Commonwealth publishes reference manual for public-private partnerships

The Commonwealth Secretariat has launched a new publication to help governments in developing countries foster greater relationships with the private sector. The publication - ‘Public-Private Partnerships Policy and Practice’ - is a comprehensive reference manual on public-private partnerships (PPPs) concept and trends.

According to its editor, Hee Kong Yong, the publication provides a practical guide and information resource on PPPs, with particular reference to developing countries.

While PPPs allow developing countries to mobilise private sector funding and expertise to develop public infrastructure, Mr Yong said there are challenges relating to the creation of an enabling environment for this relationship.

The publication, he said, draws on experiences of many countries and provides references to various information resources.

“It focuses on the key lessons learned – and emerging best practice – from the successful and failed PPP transactions over the past 30 years,” he outlined.

Mr Yong, a PPPs Adviser at the Commonwealth Secretariat, said the publication avoids jargon and explains the relevant concepts in non-specialist language, while providing an outline on the structure of PPPs and the best practice principles on joint-venture projects.

He noted that the role of the Commonwealth Secretariat is to provide advisory and capacity-building support to member countries in developing their PPP programmes. In order to meet this objective, he said, the Secretariat has also created the Commonwealth PPP Network, a network of public sector PPP policy-makers and practitioners that allows the sharing of experiences and resources between member countries.

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• Our work: Public Private Partnerships

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• Commonwealth Publications