An availability payment is what a public agency pays a private developer for keeping a project open and up to standard, usually monthly. Payment is tied to performance, not traffic, and it falls when the project is unavailable.
What the video says
In infrastructure, a road can lose its traffic, and its operator still gets paid. It's called an availability payment. One private firm builds and runs the road. The government pays it, usually every month. Say that's sixty million a year. Now take a toll road earning that same sixty. Traffic halves. The tolls fall to thirty. On the availability road, the same drop in traffic. Still sixty. But shut a lane, and the payment gets cut. The job is keeping it open and up to standard. So why do investors care? It trades traffic risk for a promise from the government. Steadier income, and less upside. Paid for being open. Not for being busy.
In the glossary: Availability payment
A simple example with round numbers, not advice. Terms vary by fund.
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