Public-Private Partnerships are a Way Forward for Infrastructure Improvement
Partnerships between the private and public sectors are an effective and necessary means to improving our country’s crumbling infrastructure. The President’s $1 trillion infrastructure plan discussed this past summer is founded on the idea of using public funds to incentivize private investment in infrastructure projects across the country.
Blackstone Group, a major investment company, is moving forward with plans to create a $40 billion fund that will be invested in infrastructure. With $500 million coming directly from Blackstone, this is tremendous leadership in a necessary area, with our infrastructure getting worse each day. It’s becoming more and more important for private companies to participate in these public-private partnerships that provide the means to fund much-needed infrastructure improvements. Individual states have been leading the charge in infrastructure repairs recently, attracting investments from the private sector.
“State governments have become an incubator for infrastructure policy because of the lack of federal action, raising gas taxes and looking at different tolling techniques,” said Scott Zuchorski, senior director of Fitch Rating’s global infrastructure group. “Private investors will probably look to the state level where projects are ready to go, and they can deploy their capital.”
The GAIN coalition applauds Blackstone’s dedication to improving our infrastructure, and is hopeful that additional companies will soon follow suit. It’s paramount that we move with forward with infrastructure investments, and that we do so together between the public and private sectors, so that communities across the country can see the revitalization of our infrastructure that they deserve.