John Laing has increased its investment commitments from £200m to £340m following its decision to invest $155m in the I-66 Outside the Beltway project in Virginia, which reached financial close.
Olivier Brousse, John Laing's chief executive, said: “Looking ahead, we continue to have a strong pipeline of attractive investment opportunities, particularly in North America and Australia."
However, the group warned it might still raise the threshold when the Melbourne Metro PPP project, for which it is a preferred bidder, reaches financial close towards the end of the year.
Brousse added: "Following the I-77 in 2015, this is our second investment in managed lanes in the US. We see managed lanes as attractive and sophisticated projects which enable us to deploy our investment expertise. Because they provide an effective solution to address urban congestion, we see them as a growing asset class in the future.”
Meanwhile, German contractor Hochtief has also noted the positive US and Canada PPP markets this week.