The primary purpose of this paper is to fill an information void on PPPs by offering an updated description of European PPPs from a macroeconomic and sectoral perspective. It does not aim to provide any normative assessment of PPPs as a procurement method.
Between 1990 and 2009 more than 1300 PPP contracts were signed in the EU, representing a capital value of more than EUR 250 billion. This includes roughly 350 new projects with a value of almost EUR 70 billion having reached financial close since the beginning of 2007.
Since 2006, the PPP market in Europe has continued to diversify both across countries and sectors. The UK remains the largest PPP market in Europe, though its share in the total of EU-PPPs continues to shrink. At the same time, PPPs have become more important in other European countries. Until now, PPPs in the UK continue to diversify across sector, with health and education PPPs gaining ground. Outside the UK, similar tendencies can be observed, though transport remains the dominant sector.
During the financial crisis, the PPP market in Europe contracted in most countries and sectors. As there was a tendency towards smaller projects, the total value of PPPs declined more than the number of deals: The value of EU PPP transactions stood at EUR 15.8 billion in 2009; a decrease by almost 50% compared to 2007. However, in many respects the reduction in PPPs observed in 2009 can be interpreted as a reversal of an extraordinary spike in the years preceding the crisis.