Japan to Set Up A Fund To Support PFI Projects

A bill to establish a government-sponsored fund that will invest in, or lend to, PFI projects in renewable energy and infrastructure is being discussed at the Japanese diet. Once the bill is approved, the Government will seed the fund with 5 billion yen (60 million dollars) and invite private companies to add up capital. Going forward, the Government will provide loan guarantees and additional capital to enable the fund to cope with much larger financing requirements. This fund could have a similar structure as Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, which now has as much as 24 billion dollar investment capacity. According to a press, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism plans to sell management rights of Japanese airports, such as Sendai and Kansai.