Ashurst strengthens its Australian projects team with two partner hires

Alex joins from DLA Piper, where he was the head of their finance and projects practice group in Brisbane. He has market leading expertise in the project finance, PPP, transportation and infrastructure sectors, having advised on more than 50 PPP's across multiple jurisdictions. He is currently advising an Australian State Government entity on a major rail PPP, as well as other government entities and bidders on a range of large-scale transport and social infrastructure developments and concessions in Australia and overseas.

Dan, who also joins the projects practice from DLA Piper, has significant expertise in large-scale infrastructure, natural resources and energy projects in Australia, Asia and the Middle East. He advises developers, investors, governments and contractors on the financing and development of renewable and conventional energy projects, as well as infrastructure and PPP projects. A key area of focus for Dan is the Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) market, where he has advised a variety of national and international corporates and developers on their procurement and implementation of Corporate PPAs.

Division Head, Projects and Real Estate, Geoff Gishubl commented: "The appointment of Alex and Dan supports our active growth agenda for the projects practice, while further enhancing our ability to deliver innovative project infrastructure solutions to our domestic and international clients. Alex and Dan both have a wealth of experience and technical knowledge, and I am confident they will make a significant contribution to the practice. I look forward to their arrival."

Practice Group Head, APAC, Projects Lee McDonald added: "Alex and Dan's expertise perfectly complements our existing projects practice and will further strengthen our leading infrastructure capability. I am confident they will play a valuable role in further developing our client offering in Brisbane and in the wider Asia Pacific region. We are very much looking forward to welcoming them to the team."

The appointments support the firm's strategy to maintain and build upon its leading projects practice in Australia and Asia Pacific. The team is currently advising Transport for NSW on all aspects of the Sydney Metro Project, Sydney Motorway Corporation on the A$14.9 billion WestConnex motorway project and WSA Co in respect of the development of Sydney's second airport. It is also advising the Governments of Singapore and Malaysia in respect of the PPP for the High Speed Rail Link between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, and recently advised Edify Energy on the development, financing and equity transfer to build and operate two large-scale solar farms in Northern Queensland.