Public-private partnerships are unlikely to entirely replace traditional infrastructure financing and development any time soon, if ever. PPPs are just one tool among many. Governments typically have a number of objectives when building infrastructure: getting good value for money, timely delivery, meeting public needs and so on. The procurement model that best addresses these objectives is the one that should be chosen in each individual circumstance.
PPPs have shown their potential as an important way to meet these objectives and address infrastructure shortages. For example, they provide new sources of capital for public infrastructure projects. Private equity, pension funds and other sources of private financing must still be repaid, but shifting the responsibility for arranging the financing to the private partner can help deliver infrastructure if a public entity is unwilling or unable to shoulder the full debt or the associated risk of the project at a certain point in time.
Six additional benefits help to explain the strong growth of PPPs.