AMP Capital buys stake in Victorian Desalination Plant from developer

Investment house AMP Capital has acquired a 5.2 per cent stake in the Victorian Desalination Plant (VDP), Australia, from Pacific Partnerships.

Pacific Partnerships is the project finance arm of CIMIC Group, an infrastructure project developer that owns Thiess, whose joint venture with Degremont designed and constructed the VDP.

AMP Capital investment house focuses on real estate and infrastructure, and bought the holding through its Community Infrastructure Fund (CommIF).

“We’re delighted to invest in one of Australia’s largest public-private partnerships. This asset delivers stable, long-term monthly service payments from the Victorian government to our investors. This latest acquisition will increase CommIF’s exposure to the water sector, adding to our existing water assets that include Riverland Water and AquaTower,” AMP’s CommIF manager Andrea McElhinney said.

CommIF’s net asset value has grown from $55 million in September 2010, to $500 million in October 2016.

Read our in-depth study of VDP.