The United States faces a growing infrastructure challenge. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that the nation needs to invest more than $3 trillion across infrastructure sectors in the coming years. Many critical facilities have come to the end of their useful life and need major repairs or replacement. At the same time, the United States will add another 100 million people over the next 50 years, creating the need for expansion. Without robust investment by all levels of government, the United States will face an infrastructure drag that limits access to opportunity for millions of Americans and reduces overall economic productivity.
Historically, state and local governments have financed infrastructure investment through the issuance of tax-exempt municipal bonds. In recent years, however, investment fund managers have pushed governments to expand beyond traditional procurement approaches to include more public-private partnerships, or P3s—especially those that include a private equity financing component.
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