government

Boris Johnson’s extraordinary ‘I am not a communist’ moment will have dashed the hopes of an expectant private sector.

Senator Jane Hume, assistant minister for superannuation, argues that the early super withdrawal scheme has gone ‘exceptionally well’ to date with only 0.5% of the whole system’s assets withdrawn.

Opposition from within the governing coalition has led to the project being placed on the backburner until after the general election in September.

The $10.8bn project will confirm details by July, although some current policies may slow down private investment in the country’s renewables PPP projects.

One of the new rules includes lowering the threshold that would trigger a FIRB review of foreign investment in infrastructure assets from A$275m to A$0.

A two-year extension to the FiT framework and a direct PPA programme could lead to greater opportunities for the sector, according to Fitch, but grid access and bankability of projects remain a challenge.  

Infrastructure assets are ‘particularly susceptible’ to community distrust and social licence should be considered at all stages of a project to combat this, says a report by think-tank Infrastructure Partnerships Australia.

With public infrastructure resources being diverted to pandemicrecovery efforts, many in the industry are wondering if this could bewhat finally prompts an uptick in PPPs.

The project's construction companies are threatening to terminate their contract, which would make the Maryland project the latest in a series of troubled North American PPPs.

The move comes despite announcements from British Airways and Virgin Atlantic on a suspension of activities at the London site.