Availability payments are made to a private concessionaire by a public project sponsor based on project milestones or facility performance standards in exchange for particular services. Federal-aid grants may be used to pay the capital portion of availability payment installments. Availability payments are currently being used on at least ten P3 projects in the U.S.
Pass-through tolls (also known as shadow tolls) are per-vehicle or per-vehicle-mile fees paid by a state or local agency or authority to a private concessionaire as reimbursement for particular services. Federal-aid grants may be used to pay pass-through toll capital reimbursements. In the U.S., the State of Texas has entered into several pass-through tolling agreements with local agencies to help repay their upfront investments in highway projects with pass-through tolls. Texas' experience with this project financing tool is detailed in a TR News article from 2011.
