Senior government officials from nine Pacific developing nations have recently shared their knowledge and experiences in managing public-private partnerships in a workshop held in Brisbane.
The workshop, "Strengthening Private Sector Participation for Physical Infrastructure in the Pacific Region", was sponsored by the Asian Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank Institute and the Bond University.
The Samoa Observer reports the workshop aims to raise awareness of the potential for projects in the Pacific and demonstrate the core elements required for their successful implementation.
Public Private Partnerships are contractual arrangements between the public and private sector for the provision of assets and/or services such as power, water, transportation, education and health.
Eugenue Zhukov, the Regional Director of ADB's Sydney Office says the bank is committed to supporting the development of these kind of policy frameworks, to build capacity within the public sector to identify opportunities.
While Partnerships are not new in the power and water sectors in the Pacific, policymakers are now exploring PPP opportunities in the transport infrastructure and health sectors to supplement public financial resources.
