HICL Infrastructure Company Limited (HICL), the listed infrastructure investment company advised by InfraRed Capital Partners Limited, has announced that it has completed the sale of its 9.7% interest in the AquaSure Desalination PPP Project to AMP Capital and UniSuper.

The project involves the operation of a desalination plant in Wonthaggi, Victoria, south-east Australia, with a production capacity of 150 billion litres of water a year - the largest desalination plant in the Southern Hemisphere. The plant was commissioned in December 2012 and supplies approximately one third of Melbourne's annual water consumption. 

HICL previously communicated on 29 August 2018 that it had entered into an agreement to sell its interest, subject to third-party consents. This transaction has now completed following the receipt of those consents and the consideration of AUD161 million (US$116.3 million).

HICL will use the proceeds to reduce the balance on its revolving credit facility allowing for further accretive investments. Following completion of the disposal, drawings on the facility are forecast to be in the region of GBP70 million (US$91.5 million).