Alinta chief thirsty for gas, water - Business - Business - theage.com.au

ALINTA chief Bob Browning has his eyes on the planned $3.5 billion gas pipeline between Queensland and Papua New Guinea, saying he would like to add it to his $6.5 billion infrastructure portfolio once it moves out of the development phase.
The pipeline is due to be built by Australian Gas Light and Malaysian group Petronas by 2009.
Under the AGL-Alinta asset swap, expected to be completed by October, Alinta will get infrastructure assets while AGL will focus on energy sales. But the pipeline will stay with AGL, which will use its gas to supply Australian markets.
Mr Browning said this made sense in the short term. "In its formative stages, it's probably better for AGL to have it," said Mr Browning, speaking at the Australian Institute of Energy in Melbourne yesterday.
"Once it's up and filled to the 30-50 per cent level, then it starts to get categorised as an asset that would fit more appropriately with us," he said. "We'll certainly keep an eye on it."
Such purchases will be vital for Alinta after the AGL reorganisation is complete, as the company will be facing a dearth of Australian growth opportunities.
"If we stop doing deals within three to four years, we would plateau out as a company, growing at about 2 per cent, so we have to be looking at other forms of infrastructure," Mr Browning said.
New areas of infrastructure for Alinta included water, and some expertise was already being built up in that area, he said. Included in the AGL deal is ACTEW-AGL, which manages water assets in Canberra.
Alinta is pinning its hopes on the privatisation of water distribution in Australia. The withdrawal of the Snowy Hydro float has not diminished Mr Browning's optimism. He said "Snowy's got so much baggage around it, being a national icon" that it could not be compared with other water assets.
He said a big step forward in water was possible in Britain, where Alinta was looking at buying a sizeable water business. Attempts were made to buy a British business nine months ago, but the price had gone beyond what Alinta wanted to pay.
Another AGL business Alinta will inherit, Agility, will also give the company water expertise. "It's got some interesting projects around reticulating grey water and industrial grade water … into Sydney," he said.
Alinta may re-enter the telecommunications business through buying or building fibre-optic networks. But Mr Browning said the company would not sell phone or data services as it had with its former Uecomm business, inherited with the 2003 United Energy purchase and subsequently sold.
Purchases of energy infrastructure assets in stable parts of the world would also be pursued.
Mr Browning said no further significant energy infrastructure portfolios would be available in Australia without privatisation in Queensland and NSW.