Summary:

The purpose of this program is to facilitate and evaluate public-private partnerships in which the private-sector partner could assume a greater role in project planning, development, financing, construction, maintenance, and operation, including by assisting eligible entities in entering into asset concessions. A significant focus of this program is to identify existing assets that have the potential to provide additional public benefits through asset concessions. Funding will support the procurement of advisors and/or the hiring of employees into a public agency to administer eligible activities. 

For the purposes of this program, existing assets are defined as physical infrastructure, real property, or mineral/air rights to real property that could be improved utilizing Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) credit assistance. Examples of existing assets include:

• Bridges and tunnels
• Intercity passenger bus or rail facilities and vehicles, including those owned by Amtrak
• Public or private freight rail
• Intermodal freight transfer facilities
• Existing highways
• Streets
• Vacant or underutilized parcels or right-of-way
• Airport terminal facilities and transportation infrastructure
• Inland ports
• Ports
• Public transportation facilities and public infrastructure

All proposed activities must explore developing an existing asset into an enhanced asset with a TIFIA-eligible project. TIFIA-eligible projects include highway, transit, passenger rail, certain freight facilities, certain port projects, airports, and transit-oriented development projects, as detailed on pages 10-11 of the NOFA file. Award recipients are not required to use TIFIA financing for construction or operation of infrastructure.

The following types of funding will be provided through this program:

• Technical assistance cooperative agreements: funding can be used to build the organizational capacity of the applicant to develop, review, or enter into asset concessions to advance TIFIA-eligible projects; eligible activities include:
  • Asset scan: conducting assessments of multiple existing assets wholly owned by, or under the jurisdiction of, the applicant
  • Program of existing assets: implementing tasks related to advancing a program of existing assets by conducting pre-construction tasks that consider innovative financing and delivery to achieve project goals
• Expert services cooperative agreements: funding can be used to leverage public and private funding in connection with the development of a specific existing asset, including the development of alternative approaches to project delivery or procurement; eligible activities include:
  • Project planning, feasibility studies, revenue forecasting, economic assessments and cost/benefit analyses, public benefit studies, value-for-money analyses, business case development, lifecycle cost analyses, risk assessment, financing and funding options analyses, procurement alternatives analyses, statutory and regulatory framework analyses, meaningful public involvement, and other pre-procurement and pre-construction activities
  • Financial and legal planning, including the identification of statutory authorization, funding, and financing options
  • Early assessment of permitting, environmental review, and regulatory processes and costs
  • Assistance with entering into an asset concession

Refer to pages 7-9 of the NOFA file for additional information regarding each award category, including examples of eligible projects. 

For technical assistance cooperative agreements, applicants must identify at least two existing assets to evaluate for potential asset concession opportunities. All identified existing assets will be considered for a single cooperative agreement for the purposes of this program. 

For expert services cooperative agreements, applicants must identify at least one existing asset to develop by leveraging public or private funds. 

If the proposed activities include direct assistance for an asset concession, such as negotiating a concession agreement, award recipients must comply with the conditions detailed on page 16 of the NOFA file. 

Eligible costs include travel, materials, other direct costs, and indirect costs. 

An optional webinar is scheduled for this program. Refer to the Application section for details.

Last Updated: August 22, 2025