Scott Zuchorski News

While airports, ports and GARVEEs are holding steady, according to several new Fitch Ratings reports, increasingly, state and local governments are realizing the benefits of risk transfer, cost certainty and asset preservation through public-private partnerships (P3). For U.S. airports, a renewed economic downturn or airline service shift could result in negative rating actions, while U.S. port ratings could change if the balance of trade is altered after the Panama Canal expansion opens. 'Near-term, the P3 pipeline is expected to grow, both for new project construction and expanded existing projects. Completion risk remains a prominent factor, so more intensive risk analysis is still an important consideration,' said Scott Zuchorski, Senior Director.

The 2014 outlook for airports, ports, and toll roads is stable despite tepid growth, according to a new Fitch Ratings report. 'The growing use of Public Private Partnership, or P3, transactions to construct new or expand existing projects is largely motivated by limited resources at the state and local level, combined with uncertainty on future federal funding levels,' said Scott Zuchorski, Director in the Global Infrastructure Group. The outlook for U.S. ports remains stable for 2014, with flat to modest improvements in port throughput and largely stable revenue profiles expected.