Skip to main content

New report highlights investment potential in US

A new report from international consultancy EC Harris says that highway investors consider developed nations to provide the best economic benefits at present.
February 28, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A new report from international consultancy EC Harris says that highway investors consider developed nations to provide the best economic benefits at present. Despite fast expansion in certain nations; Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC), the report shows that the US is seen as offering good commercial prospects for highway investment.

EC Harris has released research ranking 17 key countries across the globe on the relative attractiveness of their transport sector to potential investors. Greater stability and more effective regulatory systems pushed many Western countries towards the top of the table despite the huge investment plans being proposed in many developing countries. Canada, Germany and France all followed closely behind the US due to their willingness to consider a PPP financing mechanism, as this proved significant in establishing investor confidence. India and Russia are planning significant programmes to improve their highways infrastructure, however a lack of clarity on a fiscal, political and operational level and difficulty in accessing these markets, are all combining to deter inward financial investment.

However Chile ranked fifth overall and second in the highways sector as an investment prospect, reflecting its strong economic growth. Despite a more modest investment programme, Chile scored consistently high throughout, with its PPP framework particularly strong in building investor confidence. The criteria used to judge each country covered a broad range of factors typically considered by various investor groups including the political and economic stability in each market, the government incentives and policies on offer, and the private finance funding channels already in place to support inward investment. Each country was assessed across the four main transportation sectors and the overall ranking was then calculated based on the sum of these figures.

Related Content

  • Turkish manufacturers key to aggregates equipment
    February 13, 2012
    Turkish manufacturers are important trading partners in the worldwide aggregate production sector, Mike Woof reports
  • Growth coming for Asian construction market
    September 4, 2018
    A new report produced by research specialist GlobalData predicts continued growth for Asia’s construction market. According to the report, construction in the ASEAN region will grow by over 6% annually over next five years. The report has been published to coincide with the INTERMAT ASEAN 2018 and Concrete Asia 2018 trade shows for construction, infrastructure and concrete sectors. The data suggests that construction output in the member states of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) would ex
  • Goldman Sachs buys into infrastructure business Essel Highways
    August 16, 2016
    A consortium of investors led by Goldman Sachs has agreed to invest US$220 million in Essel Highways, part of the Essel Group. This is the US private investment firm’s first foray into India’s road infrastructure market, according to India’s financial media reports. Essel Highways, a subsidiary of Essel Infraprojects, constructs, develops and operates national and state highways. Essel Highways, set up in 2007, boasts road assets valued at around $2 billion. It has a road development portfolio of 1
  • Paying for the roads we drive
    February 6, 2018
    All around the world, vehicle numbers are growing fast and existing roads are seeing increasing congestion. This rapid increase in vehicle ownership is particularly acute in the developing world. Reductions in actual vehicle purchase costs have resulted in an explosion in vehicle numbers using the roads. In the past, governments were able to fund road expansion programmes from their own sources. The most ambitious of these came when the US Government commenced construction of the Interstate system in 1956,