Virginia has had a positive experience with it Public Private Partnership Act of 1995. Has every proposal moved forward-No. But many have and many have brought much needed improvements to Virginia sooner than what traditional methods would have allowed. The benefits are obvious:
Private Investment-expands the resources;
Innovative Financial Structuring creates non-traditional funding sources, rather than simply relying on state and federal gas tax revenues;
Schedules for projects are often accelerated (most of the projects have been completed or are expected to be completed sooner that in tradition methods and time is money);
Guaranteed cost, often at a cost savings from traditional methods;
Innovative Project Delivery -brings new ideas and concepts to the table; and,
Significant reduction of risk to the public agency as the risk is shifted to the project manager
And finally, as noted in the Virginia experience, public private partnerships are not just about toll roads. It must be said it is not for every project but PPP's can be an important tool for addressing infrastructure needs.