Public private partnerships (PPPs) have the potential to deliver infrastructure more cheaply and efficiently than public procurement but in practice, in most cases private finance makes projects significantly more expensive. The value of private finance often lies in broader objectives and, in particular, in establishing a long-term commitment to infrastructure investment, insulated from short-term political cycles.
If projects can be financed by tolls, PPPs can produce investment with very little direct call on public funds. PPPs are, however, prone to overestimating revenues and when projects run into financial difficulty, risks have a tendency to revert to the taxpayer.
In this context, panellists discussed under what conditions more private finance might be attracted to transport infrastructure investment and what approaches to regulation are likely to be most successful in limiting the exposure of taxpayers to financing risks.
22 May 2013, Leipzig, Germany.
