Public-Private Partnerships: A New Paradigm

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) have emerged the world over as an important policy tool for the provision of a host of infrastructure, starting from economic to social infrastructure. Governments in both developing and developed countries are adopting PPPs. While in developed countries they are in an advanced level, but in case of developing countries they are being adopted albeit a bit cautiously. Basically, PPPs are arrangements whereby public goods are provided through collaboration of private sector taking into consideration the profit-making motive of the private sector. In developed countries there is considerable risk transfer to the private partner but in case of developing countries the public partner in many cases bears most of the risk. PPPs allow the Government to tap better innovative capacity, managerial efficiencies and optimization capabilities of the private sector. Similarly, the private sector gets newer opportunities to grow and flourish. Basically, PPPs can be formed in a number of sectors right from economic infrastructure to social infrastructure. World over PPPs are predominantly formed in the transport sector that includes railways, roadways, ports and airports, electricity, telecommunications, health, schooling and last, but not the least, sewerage, water treatment and potable water provisioning. This volume gives a comprehensive treatment of the most relevant issues in PPPs and the experiences with focus on the developing country perspective.