Reason Foundation
Robert Poole
The COVID-19 pandemic has put new fiscal stress on some state and local governments. One tool that may help them cope is called “asset monetization,” sometimes referred to as “infrastructure asset recycling.” As practiced by Australia and a handful of U.S. jurisdictions, the concept is for a government to sell or lease revenue-producing assets, unlocking their asset values to be used for other high-priority public purposes.
This study explores the potential of airport public-private partnership leases for 31 large and medium hub airports owned by city, county, and state governments. It draws on data from dozens of overseas airport public-private partnership lease transactions in recent years to estimate what each of the 31 airports might be worth to investors.
