One of the most misunderstood aspects of PPPs in Texas is the interrelationship between local Toll Project Entities (TPEs) and the private sector. This misunderstanding was exacerbated by the well publicized controversy between Cintra and the NTTA over SH121 - which occurred before the passage of SB792.
We will address most of the issues surrounding local TPEs in later sections of this report. At this point, however, we note that much of the confusion regarding the respective roles of local TPEs and private road developers has arisen because under current and proposed state and federal regulations, a local TPE can be both a competitor and a customer of a private highway development enterprise.
Under SB792, local TPEs have the same rights as TxDOT to award CDA contracts within their particular regions. Thus, entities such as NTTA or HCTRA could choose to employ private capital to build out a portion of their system and award a CDA contract to a private developer for that purpose.
On the other hand, recently proposed federal regulations would permit - and in fact encourage - direct competition between a local TPE and a private toll road company for the rights to develop a particular highway.