Infrastructure

Infrastructure projects are essential to the health of any economy. Your work delivers a smooth-running society, greater mobility for people and a fertile ground for successful businesses. However, such projects are often large, complex and subject to political and legislative restraints.

Increasing concerns related to congested highways, overcrowded hospitals, deteriorating schools and inadequate water and sewage capacity fuel the need for improvements that are as related to the relationships between private and public stakeholders as they are to the buildings and roads themselves.

In many jurisdictions, there is a growing appetite for innovative solutions that support public initiatives with private sector resources and expertise.

The right choice

When it comes to choosing lawyers to handle large, complex projects anywhere in the world, Gowling WLG offers a winning combination of experience and know-how.

We advise on the most challenging and complex infrastructure and PPP projects being undertaken internationally. Our lawyers are established advisers to government bodies, contractors, sponsors and funders, and have a strong track record of delivering strategically important and high value projects.

We understand the full range of procurement models and advise on bid tactics and strategic procurement issues. Our team regularly advises on the sale and purchase of equity in PFI/PPP projects, different contracting structures, alliancing and partnering, wider markets initiative, outsourcing, prime contracting and long-term collaboration agreements.

Areas we cover

  • Contracts, alliancing and outsourcing
  • Construction of courthouses and detention centres
  • Design and management of procurement processes
  • Energy from waste, cleanup and waste-disposal projects
  • Financing, including placements of debt and equity
  • Fund formation
  • Equity structuring
  • Government relations
  • Health-care facilities
  • Exit strategies, such as public financings
  • Land-use planning and zoning
  • Operations and management agreements
  • Planning strategies, approvals and advice
  • Procurement and governance of public private partnerships (PPPs/P3s)
  • Real estate developments
  • Schools and universities
  • Transport
  • Water and wastewater projects

PFI/PPP

We benchmark international best practice from our experience in the UK (which is a world leader in PFI and PPP) and our work in the Middle East and Africa on PPP projects. Team members have acted for the UK Government for nearly 20 years and have successfully closed a number of PPPs for the Department of Health Commercial Directorate, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Defence.

Transport and ports

For organisations involved in transport infrastructure projects, our team has a strong track record including ports, highways, bridges, tunnels, rail and light rail projects.

Waste

The Gowling WLG team is the ideal choice for cutting-edge advice in this developing area. Skills and experience have been honed in waste management and treatment projects, including energy from waste. Internationally, our team members advised CNM on the Bahrain Solid waste PPP project, the first project financed waste project in the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Defence

Clients choose our team for its market-leading knowledge of the defence sector, developed over time on a number of high-profile projects.

Social infrastructure

Our health experience is bolstered by an ever-growing client list, which includes the biggest names among private sector healthcare providers, social care providers, life sciences, pharmaceuticals and the NHS.

Rail

Gowling WLG's rail team of more than 25 lawyers works for a range of clients in the industry. We have advised European and international clients, including governments, private sector operators, developers, joint ventures and financiers, on all aspects of rail and transport law for over 20 years.

Examples of our work

  • Advisers on three of the largest highways PPP schemes in the UK
  • Advising the Government of Rwanda on the development and financing of a number of logistics PPP projects
  • Counsel to RATP in relation to a complex leasing operation intended to fund the acquisition of new trains for the Parisian tramway
  • Advisers to the Plenary Group on the Colorado Department of Transportation's High Performance Transportation Enterprise on the US$175 million second phase of the United States' 36 Managed Lanes/Bus Rapid Transit Project
  • Financing counsel to Macquarie Group as project sponsors on the US$2.1 billion public private partnership on the Downtown Tunnel/Midtown Tunnel/MLK Extension Project in Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia

Find out more

A big team for your big challenges. Get in touch for the advice you need.