Istanbul PPP Week - Managing PPPs

Conference Details and Participating Countries

Last week I participated, as one of the principle speakers, in the Third Istanbul PPP Week that was organized by the Istanbul PPP Center of Excellence, the Turkish Ministry of Trade, and the Turkish Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK).

The program's title was "Let's Do It Together" and the sessions focussed on how PPPs can be better delivered from the perspective of the more than 40 government officials from more than 30 countries that attended the event. Countries that were represented include Turkey, the USA, Spain, Australia, Kazakhstan, Tanzania, Ukraine, Cameroon, Lithuania, Ivory Coast, Romania, Albania, Kosovo, Morocco, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Tunisia, Bosnia, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Gabon, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and Uganda.

The conference was also attended by representatives from the Global Infrastructure Hub (GIH), The World Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, and the European Bank - many of whom were active partners in the different sessions that took place between November the 5th and the 9th, 2018.

Topics of Discussion

Topics that were discussed included the following:

• PPPs - From Idea to Implementation
• Balancing and Managing Risks of PPPs
• Inherent Risks for PPP Projects - Australian Case Studies
• Structuring the Procurement Phase of PPP Projects
• Procurement Best Practices
• Resilient and Regenerative PPPs, Operations and Management after Financial Close
• Third Party Opportunism and Public Contracting
• New Areas for PPP Contracts - Smart Cities Projects for Governments
• IsDB's Support to Infrastructure Development
• Creating Value in Long Term Projects Through PPPs for Municipalities
• What the Public Sector Should do to Attract Private Sector Investors

Two very informative sessions were also held - one led by the GIH on their PPP Risk Allocation Tool and another session where 21 countries made presentations on their PPP programs and lessons learned.

Some Take Aways

It is always a very rewarding experience when PPP practitioners from all over the world get together and discuss PPP best practices and challenges. Most attendees were pleased to find that there are many similarities between countries when it comes to the implementation of PPPs. All countries - it was pointed out - have good stories to tell and all also have bad stories to tell about the implementation of PPPs. Many participants felt that the best lessons that are learned are those that are embraced from project difficulties.

Some additional observations were made that include the following:

• Do not allow risk identification and mitigation paralyze your decision making
• Every country has unique challenges, but solutions to challenges can be found in other countries that are meaningful
• Unsolicited PPP proposals and procurements need to be approached cautiously
• Countries need to develop an enabling environment that is supported by legal frameworks and PPP institutions
• National Procurement Policy and Practice should not be short-circuited by PPP procurement practices that seek to fast track projects
• We live in a changing world and we need to address the challenges that the changing world imposes on PPP implementation with special acknowledgement of the Sustainable Development Goals
• Political opportunism by third party actors needs to be understood when launching PPP programs
• SMART growth PPPs need to embrace resilience and sustainability at all levels (e.g. planning, financial modeling, design, etc.)
• There is no specific PPP model that fits all projects, so countries need to be careful that they do not propose specific PPPs in their PPP legislation
• Capacity building of institutions and stakeholders that support PPP implementation is critical if countries are to have meaningful PPP programs that are attractive to investors
• PPP Pipelines that prioritize strategic bankable projects are critical tools that let investors know that countries have meaningful PPP project programs and are serious partners
• National and local government institutions need to have harmonized PPP best practices
• Building meaningful PPP programs that attract investors is in essence a PR activities - Investors are not sentimental - they go to places that have the least perceived risk
• Balanced PPPs which creates equal partnerships between the public and private sectors are critical. PPPs should not national debt and privatize profit
• Procurement of PPPs should always be transparent, competitive and autonomous of political interference

Conclusion

I look forward to next year's forum. I learned a lot, especially from stories that told about lessons learned from past mistakes.

A special thanks to Dr. Eyüp Vural Ayd?n who was a fantastic host.