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Public-Private Partnerships (PPP)A Public-Private Partnership occurs when the public and private sectors combine to design, build, finance, operate and maintain a transit network over the life of the project. The challenge of public transit is to find new ways to meet a growing demand for capital-intensive services at a time when funding for infrastructure is limited. Even with record spending on transit projects, the demand continues to outstrip available resources, giving rise to new approaches. Private-Public Partnerships, or PPPs as they are commonly referred, have only recently been introduced to transit projects as a unique means of developing large scale, heavily capitalized projects. While PPPs take on many different structures, most common is the creation of a Special Purpose Corporation consisting of a partnership of private entities, each bringing to the project a special set of resources. Engineering firms, construction firms, financial institutions and service providers combine to create a single entity in response to the public authorities request for services. Project planning, oversight and portions of the financing are typical roles of the public authority. Veolia Transportation has been a major participant in PPP projects throughout the world. In Rouen, France for example, Veolia Transportation joined with the local authority to build and operate a light rail and BRT system under a thirty-year agreement. The entire project was managed, financed, constructed and operated under a single entity. In North America, PPPs offer a unique means by which to tap the financial resources, skill sets, speed and efficiency of the private sector, bringing large projects to fruition on-time with better value. |
