That passage from the article is strange.    Long term infrastructure projects are not funded by financings like equity or ownership stakes.   In large part, they are funded by bond issuance and credit facilities. 

So the "profit" to the lender/investor is really the stream of payments which accrue to the lender/investor.    This doesn't require ownership of anything but a debt obligation of the issuing entity.    These types of investments suit a pension fund or long-term investor where a stream of payments matches their outgoing obligations.