Adic-UBS Investment Limited is set to raise $600 million for investments in infrastructure projects in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region and Turkey, said a top company official.

The company is a JV between Abu Dhabi Investment Company (Adic) and  UBS Global Asset Management, one of world's top asset management firms, aimed to develop, promote and manage infrastructure investment funds focused on Mena region.

'The fund is now open for subscription. The minimum amount is $10 million,' Adic-UBS chief executive officer Mark Thompson was quoted as saying in the Gulf News.

'The first close of the fund will be early next year, by which time we expect to raise $300 million, while the final close will be towards the end of 2009,' he said.

'We are targeting investors from the GCC, Mena, Europe and the US,' Thompson said. The fund had already received 'soft commitments' of about $250 million, he said.

Thompson said the global liquidity crunch had slowed down investments worldwide but 'infrastructure as an asset class is a lot more stable.'

He said Adic-UBS Investment currently has $70 million in equity investments. These include an airport project in Jordan and a district cooling project in the UAE.

On the company's future plan, Thompson said the two sides were looking to acquire an equity stake in the Abu Dhabi Roads Public Private Partnership and getting into a health-care project, also in the capital.

The proposed $2.5 billion, 325-kilometre road project is a venture of the Department of Transport - Abu Dhabi.

The road will run from Abu Dhabi city right up to the UAE's border with Saudi Arabia. 'The winning contractor for the project will be selected sometime next year, after all the bids received have been evaluated,' he added.