Defining Public-Private-Partnership
Public-Private Partnership (PPP) can be broadly defined as a contractual agreement between the Government and a private firm targeted towards financing, designing, implementing, and operating infrastructure facilities and services that were traditionally provided by the public sector. It embodies optimal risk allocation between the parties – minimizing cost while realizing project developmental objectives. Thus, the project is to be structured in such a way that the private sector gets a reasonable rate of return on its investment.
PPP offers monetary and non-monetary advantages for the public sector. It addresses the limited funding resources for local infrastructure or development projects of the public sector thereby allowing the allocation of public funds for other local priorities. It is a mechanism to distribute project risks to both public and private sector. PPP is geared for both sectors to gain improved efficiency and project implementation processes in delivering services to the public. Most importantly, PPP emphasizes Value for Money – focusing on reduced costs, better risk allocation, faster implementation, improved services, and possible generation of additional revenue.
