|
|
Article: PPPs empower Infrabel investment: the use of public-private partnerships (PPPs) to implement major infrastructure projects is a relatively recent phenomenon in Belgium, but as Keith Barrow explains, infrastructure manager Infrabel is pioneering this method of financing to provide much-needed extra capacity on the railway network.(Belgium)
- Article from:
- International Railway Journal
- Article date:
- February 1, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
BELGIUM'S railway network has enjoyed sustained growth since the start of the decade, with passenger numbers increasing by 4-6% per year and reaching the 200 million mark in 2007. The level of government funding allocated to infrastructure manager Infrabel for the period 2008-12 is based on a forecast 25% increase in passenger numbers, and a 35% increase in freight traffic.
Infrabel has no debt, and in principle does not invest its own funds, so it has had to find other means of financing some of the additional capacity the Belgian network will require in the next decade. Three methods of financing are currently being employed for ...