The infrastructure market is living difficult moments nowadays. Two of the biggest projects (Trans Texas Coridor & California High Speed Railway) trying to carry out big developments are experiencing budget difficulties. This is the bad part of the PPP market current situation in the US.There are also some reasons to dream with better moments. As there are some operations and plans that keep the market moving:

1. Corporative transactions: Balfour Beatty Communities acquires interest in Military Housing Project in Texas
2. New project: The I-15/US 95 Demonstration Project to confirm the suitability of Public-Private Partnership for Nevada.
3. There is also a lot of hope for P3's with Obama's stimulus infrastructure package

Following I want to take you closer to the current situation of these topics above mentioned:California High Speed RailwayThe California High Speed Rail Authority's budget for the current fiscal year, which ends in June, included $29 million from the sales of high-speed rail bonds authorized by voters in November. But because of the state budget crisis, the credit crisis and the poor market for bonds, the state treasurer has not sold any of the rail bonds.So far, consultants under contract with the authority are continuing to work despite the outstanding bills. But, this situation will have to improve as nobody works for free.Trans Texas CorridorThe Texas Department of Transportation has spent at least $131 million so far developing Trans-Texas Corridor projects, according to a report on the agency Web site.The $131 million tab included $30.7 million in the fiscal year that ended Aug. 31 . The multiyear total includes $59.4 million for the I-35 corridor, $67.9 million for the I-69 corridor, $2.8 million for a proposed Loop 9 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and $1.2 million for expenditures applying to both the I-35 and I-69 corridors.This week there were also two other news related to the Trans Texas Corridor project:

• Amadeo Saenz Jr., executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation, announced the demise of the Trans-Texas Corridor and a new name for it, Innovative Connectivity in Texas. This change implies other structural changes for the project (i.e. right of way width).
• TxDOT published a Request for Information (RFI) today asking for suggestions on how to develop future freight transport systems that minimize environmental impacts.

Balfour Beatty Communities acquires interest in Military Housing Project at Lackland, TexasBalfour Beatty Communities has acquired the interests in both Phase I and Phase II of the military housing privatization project at Lackland Air Force Base located in San Antonio, Texas. Phase I of the project consists of 420 housing units completed in 2000 by a prior developer; and Phase II of the project will cover the design, developmentI-15 ppp project in NevadaThe proposed solution would be a pay-to-drive fast lane added to both directions of Interstate 15 in Las Vegas.The lane would cost more than $1 billion dollars, and officials would pursue a public private partnership, but the money collected could be enough to fund the more than $6 billion worth of highway projects the state needs to finish by 2014, according to officials.Obama's stimulus infrastructure packageInfrastructure investment likely to include public private partnerships is one of the cornerstones of US president-elect Barack Obama's plans to kick-start the US economy. There is lot of talk about this topic, I leave you here a couple of links where you can follow the discussion:

• Optimism on the Public Private Finance website.
• IT is of special interest what Bob Poole (Director of Transportation Studies at the Reason Foundation) stated "The PAB (private activity bonds) program would be more attractive to bond buyers if such bonds were exempted from the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), as the Senate Finance Committee currently plans to do (in the stimulus bill) for PABs for airport, water, and housing projects-but not so far for highway projects. That omission should be rectified."