Up to this point, this chapter has focused on public-sector impediments to public-private partnerships. Private-sector concerns also will affect the ability to form public-private partnerships. Uncertainty at many levels is a major factor in discouraging private investment in transportation facilities. This section will discuss private-sector impediments, including financing, land acquisition, environmental expertise, tort liability, and contractor concerns.
Mixing public and private financial interests presents attractive possibilities for expanding the range of transportation projects constructed, leveraging limited public funds, and injecting a private-sector test for financial reality and cost effectiveness into project decisionmaking.[208] However, because of public-private partnership complexity, the most frequently mentioned and apparently most significant private-sector barrier is obtaining financing.[209] The financial risks include start-up financing problems, unknown and hard-to-predict traffic levels and income streams, uncertain completion costs, general uncertainty about the economy, questions about tax treatment and depreciation, exposure to tort liability, unfavorable tax laws, and the ability to obtain non-toll revenue.[210]