Trends in National and Regional Investors Financing Crossborder Infrastructure Projects in Asia

This study examines a range of cross-border infrastructure development issues related to the Asian countries. Despite active pursuit of private investment in infrastructure by most developing countries in Asia and a growing number of success stories, the pace of such investment remains slow. Participation by the private sector in infrastructure development has been mixed. While there has been moderate progress in national infrastructure development by the private sector, progress is rather limited in the case of development of cross-border infrastructure in Asia. This study documents that Asian countries have attracted higher private sector investment for the development of national infrastructure projects such as seaports and airports as compared to cross-border infrastructure projects. The rising trend among private investors in infrastructure projects indicates a decline of investments by developed country investors. One of the findings of this study is that cross-border energy projects have received greater private sector investment globally as compared to transport, telecommunication, and water projects. In the context of Asia, too, energy sector projects still dominate the investment scenario. By considering all modes of financing, this study finds that cross-border infrastructure financing in Asia has witnessed an upward trend in the last decade and a half. Aside from hydropower projects in Bhutan, cross-border infrastructure in Asia is pursued through public-private partnerships. Interestingly, these few cross-border projects in Asia have limited private sector investors, compared to other regions, despite a wide base of local investors in Asia. This paper also shows that public sector investment drives cross-border energy and transportation projects in Asia, whereas private sector investments have picked up the pace only recently, specifically after the 1997 Asian financial crisis. This study recommends that given the huge infrastructure investment needs of the region and insufficient government resources, the role of the private sector and public-private partnerships in enhancing infrastructure facilities in Asia is very crucial. A review of select case studies of cross-border infrastructure projects clearly indicates that the major reasons for slow progress of regional infrastructure development by private sector stem from both economic to non-economic issues that need to be addressed in order to promote seamless Asia.asia regional infrastructure; crossborder infrastructure

Public-private partnerships in China's urban water sector

During the past decades, the traditional state monopoly in urban water management has been debated heavily, resulting in different forms and degrees of private sector involvement across the globe. Since the 1990s, China has also started experiments with new modes of urban water service management and governance in which the private sector is involved. It is premature to conclude whether the various forms of private sector involvement will successfully overcome the major problems (capital shortage, inefficient operation, and service quality) in China¿s water sector. But at the same time, private sector involvement in water provisioning and waste water treatments seems to have become mainstream in transitional China

Collaborative Engagement Approaches For Delivering Sustainable Infrastructure Projects In The AEC Sector: A Review

The public sector has traditionally financed and operated infrastructure projects using resources from taxes and various levies (e.g. fuel taxes, road user charges). However, the rapid increase in human population growth coupled with extended globalisation complexities and associated social/political/economic challenges have placed new demands on the purveyors and operators of infrastructure projects. The importance of delivering quality infrastructure has been underlined by the United Nations declaration of the Millennium Development Goals; as has the provision of ‘adequate’ basic structures and facilities necessary for the well-being of urban populations in developing countries. Thus, in an effort to finance developing countries’ infrastructure needs, most countries have adopted some form of public-private collaboration strategy. This paper critically reviews these collaborative engagement approaches, identifies and highlights 10 critical themes that need to be appropriately captured and aligned to existing business models in order to successfully deliver sustainable infrastructure projects. Research findings show that infrastructure services can be delivered in many ways, and through various routes. For example, a purely public approach can cause problems such as slow and ineffective decision-making, inefficient organisational and institutional augmentation, and lack of competition and inefficiency (collectively known as government failure). On the other hand, adopting a purely private approach can cause problems such as inequalities in the distribution of infrastructure services (known as market failure). Thus, to overcome both government and market failures, a collaborative approach is advocated which incorporates the strengths of both of these polarised positions

Critical review on PPP Research - A search from the Chinese and International Journals

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd and Association for Project Management and the International Project Management Association. A significant number of literatures have concentrated on diverse issues related to Public-Private Partnership (PPP) both in China and abroad. However, there is no systematic analysis on the PPP research progress and status in Chinese journals, which is worth investigating because China is one of the largest PPP markets globally. In addition, there are many PPP publications in international journals based on the context of China. A comparative study is still missing between the PPP publications in Chinese journals and international journals. This paper hence aims to conduct a critical review of PPP publications from selected first tier Chinese journals and international journals. Based on a three-stage literature review research framework, 615 and 70 high quality research papers on PPP topics were selected from Chinese and international journals in the last decade between 2005 and 2014, respectively. Main research methods, research topics and research findings were then identified through content analysis and statistical analysis methods. It is found that in these two journals the frequently adopted research methods are case study, literature review, modeling, questionnaire survey and comparison; and the popular research topics include PPP models and their application, risk management, financing and economic issues, legal and procurement issues, government regulation and guarantee. Comparison analysis results show that in terms of order of popularity, there are more similarities in the research topics than research methods in Chinese and international journals. The outcomes of this paper contribute to the PPP body of knowledge through summarizing PPP research in Chinese journals and international journals in the context of China. In addition, the findings are valuable for Chinese researchers to embark future research on PPP. This paper also breaks the language barrier and enriches western researchers a better understanding of the research status of PPP in the context of China

Public-private partnerships in transport

This paper summarizes the evidence on the evolution of transport PPPs over the last 15 years or so. In the process, it provides a primer on the associated policy issues, including of the central role of project finance in the implementation of PPP policies and the debates on risk allocation in the design of PPPs. The paper also offers a discussion of the increasingly well recognized residual roles for the public sector in transport, with an emphasis on the regulatory debates surrounding the adoption of PPPs.Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Debt Markets,Banks&Banking Reform,Access to Finance,

Paving Way for Road Infrastructure Development in Public Private Partnership Emerging Economies: Lessons from Global Experiences and Policy Practices

Mismanagement of financing, tolling and project processes have been at the centre of the slow development of road infrastructure. Using a global outlook approach, this study synthesizes the public private partnership (PPP) financial challenges, tolling practices and PPP roads project experiences. Case studies were purposively selected to identify successes, failures, and reasons why such happened, as well as measures that have been taken to improve the PPP operating environment across the globe. This paper provides broad lessons upon which PPP emerging economies, especially those in Africa can improve road infrastructure for sustainable development. Keywords: road infrastructure, financial challenges, PPP road cases, tolling, lessons, PPP emerging economies DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/10-10-07 Publication date:October 31st 202

Delays and Cost Overruns in Infrastructure Projects -- An Enquiry into Extents, Causes and Remedies

Media reports abound on instances of prolonged delays and excessive cost overruns in infrastructure projects. Only a small number of projects get delivered in time and within the budget. Examples of successful project implementation, like construction of the Delhi Metro Rail, are few and appear only far in between. Indeed, the problem of time and cost overruns in India is widespread and severe. Yet, very few empirical studies exist on the subject. Even rarer are the studies based on completed projects. As a result, the extents as well as the causes behind delays and cost overruns have remained under-researched. This study investigates the various issues related to delays and cost overruns in publically funded infrastructure projects. The following questions are posed and answered -- How common and how large are the time and the cost overruns? What are the essential causes behind these delays and cost overruns? Are the underlying causes statistically significant? Are Contractual and Institutional failures among the significant causes? What are the policy implications for planning, development and implementation of infrastructure projects? The study is based on, by far, the largest dataset of 894 projects from seventeen infrastructure sectors. Among other results, it shows that the contractual and the institutional failures are economically and statistically significant causes behind cost and time overruns.Delays, Cost Overruns, Time Overruns, Infrastructure, Projects, Causes, Contractual Failures, Organizational Failures, Institutional Failures