Under the PPP model, governments tender projects to the private sector to design, build, finance, operate and maintain infrastructure – including social and affordable housing, hospitals, roads and rail networks. 

These long-term arrangements, known as ‘concessions’, typically provide investors with contracted payments over several decades in return for delivering and maintaining public assets. For investors, this combination of longevity, visibility and public‑sector alignment can be particularly attractive.

Six key characteristics:

Taken together, these features position concession infrastructure as a complementary component alongside traditional growth and income assets.

Europe’s infrastructure gap

Our research shows Europe needs approximately €3.45 trillion of infrastructure investment by 2050 just to keep pace with current rates of productivity, urbanisation and demographic change. This includes approximately €1.42 trillion for electricity generation investments alone [1].

Meeting this challenge will require significant amounts of private capital alongside public funding. Long-term concessions models have demonstrated their effectiveness in mobilising capital at scale, while aligning interests across governments, investors and communities.

Policy momentum is also accelerating. The European Commission’s Clean Energy Investment Strategy estimates that annual energy‑sector investment must reach around €660 billion between 2026 and 2030, rising to €695 billion per year from 2031 to 2040, to meet the continent’s energy transition objectives.

How to invest in concession infrastructure

Leading concession infrastructure managers are able to source and manage direct investments in PPPs and long-term concession assets, with the aim of delivering sustainable, long-term returns. 

We believe an integrated approach – where origination and asset management are closely connected – is critical. It ensures continuity of insight across the asset lifecycle, enabling high-performance outcomes across investment, development and operations.

Concession infrastructure in action

Over the past 25 years, we’ve invested in approximately 140 concession infrastructure projects around the world on behalf of clients, supporting essential public services from transportation to energy transition.

In an environment of constrained public investment, these projects illustrate how concession models can deliver infrastructure efficiently, sustainably and at scale.

Dutch Ministry of Finance (The Hague)

This Aberdeen PPP investment involved the comprehensive renovation of a 1960s building into a modern, flexible government workspace. Rather than rebuilding, refurbishment preserved the embodied carbon of the existing structure, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The project achieved an A++ energy performance certification (EPC 0.84) and transformed a fortress‑like asset into an open, adaptable public space, with flexible layouts designed to accommodate future needs.

A28 Rouen-Alençon motorway, France

Operated under a long‑term concession by ALiS, the A28 motorway illustrates how transport infrastructure can support climate and biodiversity objectives alongside regional development.

Since a 2021 baseline, the project has achieved a 58% reduction in Scope 1 emissions and a 48% reduction in Scope 2 emissions by 2024, supported by measures including renewable electricity sourcing, vehicle electrification and biomass‑fuelled heating systems.

The concession is also progressing a biodiversity strategy aligned with Natura 2000 requirements, with targeted ecological restoration and partnerships with regional conservation bodies.

Final thoughts…

As European governments face mounting infrastructure needs alongside fiscal constraints, concession‑based PPPs remain a proven and scalable solution.

For institutional investors seeking the prospect of long‑dated, inflation‑linked cashflows, exposure to essential public assets and diversification from traditional markets, concession infrastructure offers a compelling proposition. An experienced investment partner with deep origination capability and active asset management expertise can play a critical role in unlocking these opportunities – for investors and for society.

Company examples selected for illustrative purposes only to demonstrate the investment management style described herein and not as an investment recommendation or indication of future performance.

[1] Source: Aberdeen, May 2025