Morgan Stanley’s global infrastructure fund will invest up to $200 million in a joint venture with a unit of Spain’s Grupo Isolux Corsan. Isolux Corsan, which held rights to build three highway projects in India, will bring in an equal investment to the venture.
India has targeted a doubling in infrastructure spending to $1 trillion in the five years starting in 2012. As part of that effort the government has launched a $50 billion highway development program. The joint venture will now hold long-term rights for three projects that will result in the construction of more than 400 kilometers of highway in western and northern India at a total estimated cost of $1.6 billion. The company says that the projects, which primarily involve expansion of existing roads, already have received commitments for the necessary debt.