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More than 100 key government officials from Sri Lanka and private sector representatives will be attending the workshop in Colombo.

Public-Private Partnerships for Infrastructure Development in Sri Lanka

10 August 2006

Key Sri Lankan government officials and representatives from the private sector to attend workshop in Colombo.

More than 100 key government officials from Sri Lanka and private sector representatives will be attending a workshop on Private-Public Partnerships (PPP) for Infrastructure Development in Colombo from 14 to 16 August 2006.

The three-day programme is organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Governance and Institutional Development Division (GIDD) and the Government of Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment (BOI). The aim of this workshop funded by the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation is to examine operational issues in PPP, offering participants from both the public and private sectors a broad understanding of related issues and concepts, while identifying challenges and opportunities.

Strategic issues for senior decision-makers and stakeholders will be discussed on 14 August, while operational issues pertaining to deal structuring and PPP implementation will be examined during the technical sessions from 15 to 16 August.

“Recent times have witnessed a movement towards greater private sector involvement in the development of infrastructure projects throughout most of the developing world,” said Dr Srinivas Sampath, Adviser for PPP and Head of GIDD’s Asia-Pacific Section.

“Hence, a new challenge has emerged, calling for the establishment of proper regulatory frameworks and institutes that are able to foster fair competition, transparency and accountability.”

Speakers from the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (a 15-member multi-donor facility), World Bank, International Finance Corporation, Asian Development Bank, Government of Sri Lanka and the private sector will discuss topics such as challenges in developing and managing PPPs in South Asia; and project financing, legal and contractual issues. Case studies include road construction projects, port development and power generation in the region.

In the weeks leading up to the workshop, the BOI’s project management committee had conducted research to highlight prevailing constraints in PPP and identified specific areas where the Secretariat could provide support. The findings will be presented at the workshop.

Richard Gold, Interim Director of GIDD, said the workshop will enable participants to exchange ideas and information on PPP.

“It is important to look at the existing legal, institutional, regulatory and policy frameworks as well as financing options and risk management,” stated Mr Gold. “Debt/equity mobilisation, provision of incentives and guarantees are also issues of concern for PPP. Examining case studies in these areas in South Asia will be very useful.”

Mr Gold added that the Secretariat’s approach in extending PPP policy and project development support to member countries is in line with the mandate of Commonwealth finance ministers (who will be meeting in Sri Lanka in September 2006) to enhance the progress of PPP projects in the Commonwealth.

CNIS - Commonwealth News and Information Service Issue 297, 9 August 2006