Italy will use securitization as part of the E19 billion financing for its high-speed rail network, says a Treasury official in Rome. Infrastructurre SpA has been established as a company to complete rail work in a public private partnership, similar to those created in the U.K. to finance and complete infrastructure deals. Andrea Ripa di Meana, ceo of Infrastucturre in Rome, could not be reached for comment.
London-based securitization bankers say the huge financing is to be funded through a combination of project finance loans, straight bonds and securitization. One banker says these deals are already out for bid. It could not be learned how large of a portion of the overall deal a securitization would be, but one banker suggested it will be a securitization of the high-speed railroad's rolling stock--the assets typically used as collateral in previous deals.
Bankers expect more public private partnership (PPP) financings to come from Europe in the coming years. These types of deals, where a consortium appointed by the government takes on the responsibility for building and maintaining public roads, railways or hospitals, for example, have been prevalent in the U.K. for sometime. The next PPP deal to hit the U.K. market will be the £1.2 billion securitization for the London Underground.