Transurban Group, owner of toll roads in Australia and Virginia, rejected an unsolicited takeover offer from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Join discussion...

Michigan legislators have passed language in their budget for next fiscal year to prepare the way for concessioning a third toll crossing to Canada from Detroit. The budget contains $2.5m for the Michigan DOT to continue to advance preliminary legal, financial, engineering and environmental permitting to prepare for seeking a private sector toll concessionaire to finance, build, and operate the bridge. Join discussion...

CalPERS, CalSTRS and the $63.2 billion New Jersey Division of Investment, Trenton, are part of the U.S. group, which has been discussing such projects since earlier this year (Pensions & Investments, April 20). More recent members include Borealis Infrastructure Management, a unit of the C$43 billion (US$39.9 billion) Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System; the C$87.4 billion Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and the C$108.9 billion Canada Pension Plan. Join discussion...

Detroit's battle of the bridges took a new turn today with the US Government withdrawing support for the permitting of a new Ambassador bridge between Detroit and Windsor. The US Coast Guard which only in February released a favorable Final Environmental Assessment and a Finding of No Significant Impact for the second span today reversed itself completely today, charging that the private bridge owner lacks title to property needed to build the new span and is in breech of a slew of contractual and regulatory requirements. Join discussion...

This week, 407 ETR and its 450 employees celebrated a significant milestone - its 10th Anniversary. Tuesday, May 5, 2009 marked 10 years since 407 ETR Concession Company Ltd. took over the management and operation of the highway. "Looking back over the past 10 years, our growth and improvement have been phenomenal," said Antonio de Santiago, 407 ETR's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Not only are we helping drivers reach their destination quickly and safely, we are providing a world-class highway and outstanding service. Join discussion...

A Macquarie report to the Australian stock exchange shows traffic in the first quarter of 2009 continuing to decline quite seriously as compared to the previous corresponding period (pcp), 2008Q1. A crude unweighted average of their nine tollers suggests an average decline of 6% 2009Q1/2008Q1. The group attribute the declines to the global slowdown in economic activity. Revenue trends are both positive and negative - pretty much a wash on average - due to some significant toll increases. Join discussion...

PPPs are the opposite of privatization: With PPPs the private sector builds infrastructure for British Columbians, which government owns and maintains control over -- be it a hospital, a bridge or a road. PPPs, done for many years and in many countries around the world, have several benefits: Certainty with fixed-price contracts, completion on time and on budget, innovation and discipline. Over the course of the project, a successful PPP project is expected to be less expensive than a traditional project. Join discussion...

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the country’s second-biggest public pension manager, agreed to pay A$1.37 billion ($940 million) in cash for Macquarie Communications Infrastructure Group, adding investments in television and radio-transmission towers. Join discussion...

Just weeks after hard-hatted politicians kicked off construction of a new, 10-lane Port Mann bridge, the province of British Columbia announced that it will be on the hook for the entire cost of the $2.5-billion project after failing to reach a deal with private-sector partners. Join discussion...

The B.C. government has been forced to take over the entire $2.4-billion cost of the Port Mann Bridge project after plans for a partnership with a private consortium fell through. Join discussion...