Enabling Development of the Transportation Public-Private Partnership Market in the United States
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 136, Issue 4
Abstract
Public-private partnerships (PPP) for infrastructure development and management have received significant attention in academic, institutional, and political circles over roughly the last two decades. This attention was prompted, to a great extent, by early experiments with PPP-type arrangements in Australia, Canada, and the United States coupled with the United Kingdom’s Private Finance Initiative policy—not to mention the experience of other parts of the world such as Asia, continental Europe, and South America. PPP policies and practices have evolved in other world regions, but the United States remains a relatively slow mover in this market. While varying explanations for this circumstance are plausible, the situation can play to America’s advantage since the nation can capitalize upon the tested experience of its international counterparts. Drawing upon data and information collected from two principal sources: (1) case histories of PPP projects in North America to date and (2) a scanning tour of Australia, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom in 2008, misconceptions regarding PPPs are clarified, contemporary international policies and practices are characterized, and recommendations for implementing PPPs for transportation infrastructure are made. The principal intent of this paper is to trigger a dialogue about PPPs and how they might improve America’s infrastructure assets.
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Acknowledgments
The scanning tour described in this paper was sponsored by FHWA/AASHTO; the opinions, findings and recommendations presented are the writer’s alone and do not necessarily represent the views of FHWA or AASHTO.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 136 • Issue 4 • April 2010
Pages: 402 - 411
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Dec 18, 2008
Accepted: Jul 14, 2009
Published online: Jul 16, 2009
Published in print: Apr 2010
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