Development Account Projects
Public-Private Partnership Alliance programme for capacity-building in infrastructure development and provision of basic services
Background:
The growth of public-private partnerships worldwide has in many countries increased the availability of resources and the efficiency and sustainability of public services in the fields of transport, energy, water, telecommunications, health and education.
The importance of the public-private partnership concept is reflected in the outcome of United Nations summits and such United Nations initiatives as the Global Compact.
The private sector and Governments are working together increasingly on projects that are noticeably improving the position of the poor, weak and vulnerable groups in society. However, the public-private partnership approach has not always been successful, and an understanding of the causes of “failed partnerships” would be useful in shaping future efforts. The knowledge and skills required for developing and implementing public-private partnership projects are often lacking in the public sector, and the private sector is unaware of the potential of the public-private partnership relationship.
One means of developing the knowledge and skills needed for developing the public-private partnership modality has been the creation of dedicated public-private partnership programmes. Such programmes have already been established in a number of countries in Europe and Asia. In this respect, the regional commissions can play an effective role in facilitating the sharing of experiences from these countries.
The project will be executed by ESCAP, with the collaboration of ECA and ECE, and will focus on selected countries in all three regions. It will build upon available expertise, institutions and arrangements within the three collaborating regional commissions and other United Nations entities (such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Public-Private Partnerships for the Urban Environment programme), thus using considerable synergies in public-private partnership development.
Objective:
To increase the capacity of Governments to promote, develop, operate and manage public-private partnership projects for infrastructure development and the provision of basic services.
Expected accomplishments:
- A global public-private partnership alliance has been established to forge cooperation between the private sector and Governments
- Training institutions and special public-private partnership units support capacity-building for public officials (and the involvement of private-sector bodies such as chambers of commerce) in undertaking and operating public-private partnership projects at different levels
- Governments are able to develop management action plans and strategies to increase their preparedness and improve governance and strategic management of public-private partnership programmes
- Governments, the private sector and other stakeholders have access to up-to-date information on potential public-private partnership projects, good practices, policies and new developments
Implementation status:
The project is in its early stage of implementation by ESCAP, ECE and ECA. Preparatory activities and some desk-bound research activities were undertaken during the reporting period. Considering the experience of their previous work in the area of PPPs, the concerned implementing units have developed tentative plans to undertake the various activities planned under the project. Contacts with the potential stakeholders at the country level and other potential implanting partners have been established. ECE has sent out letters to experts informing them of the activity and inviting them to become members of the network and has received positive responses. ESCAP convened a Ministerial Conference on Transport hosted by the Republic of Korea at Busan in November 2006. At this Conference, ESCAP stressed the role of PPPs in infrastructure development and had the opportunity to discuss the various planned activities of the project with the delegates. Consequently, a number of delegations requested specific assistance from the secretariat and expressed their interest in being involved in capacity-building activities of the project.
In September 2006, at the ECE Committee on Economic Cooperation and Integration, several delegations expressed their strong interest in the topic and their wish to be involved in capacity building activities. As a follow-up to discussions at the Ministerial Conference on Transport, ESCAP has reached an advanced stage in negotiations with a potential host government for organizing the ESCAP regional meeting. It is understood that the host Government is also considering the organization of high-level activities in support of PPPs and providing technical cooperation to developing countries in the region in collaboration with ESCAP. The Government of Israel has offered to host an ECE regional meeting, including a national seminar on promoting good governance in PPPs and a study tour on specific PPP projects. These types of initiatives taken by member countries are expected to go a long way in ensuring the long-term sustainability of the impact of the project.
