A replacement for the chair of Infrastructure Australia has been announced, as Rod Eddington prepares to leave his post.

Mark Birrell will succeed Eddington as the new Chairman of Infrastructure Australia, when his term expires on 8 April 2014.

Sir Eddington is moving to a role with the APEC Business Advisory Council, reportedly at the request of the Prime Minister, and recommended Mr Birrell as his replacement.

Mr Birrell is already a key member of Infrastructure Australia.

He leads the transport and construction sectors as Chairman of the Port of Melbourne and founding Chairman of Infrastructure Partnerships Australia. He was also a Victorian State Cabinet Minister responsible for major projects.

Under the Coalition Government, Infrastructure Australia will be given almost free range on the development of a rolling 15-year infrastructure plan for Australia.

The Government's $36 billion Infrastructure Investment Programme is aimed at creating road and rail projects to boost productivity, foster growth and reduce congestion.

Mr Birrell is the former national leader of the infrastructure group at Minter Ellison Lawyers and has extensive experience as a company director.

Previously he was Minister for Major Projects and Government Upper House Leader in Victoria, working on successful capital works initiatives like CityLink, the Melbourne Exhibition Centre and the Docklands.

Rod Eddington was knighted by the British Government in 2005 for services to civil aviation.

Eddington’s first duty in his new job will be to attend the four upcoming APEC Business Advisory Council meetings (the next will be in Santiago, Chile) and connect with Australian business, government and international ABAC members to promote local interests.

He is currently in Japan with Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s trade delegation, where a Japanese newspaper has quoted his opinion in Australia’s stance in Asia.

“Australia maintains a leading position in Asia that many other countries envy,” Sir Eddington said, according to the Japanese paper.

“But greater attention and focus are needed by both government and the private sector to highlight the strategic appeal of the country and our non-resource sectors, to foreign investment, including from Japan.”