PPPs are new to many state and local governments in this country. Consequently there is considerable uncertainty about using these alternative approaches that rely more heavily on the private sector than in the past, when there was a clear distinction in responsibilities between the sponsor/owner agency and the private firms that performed final design or construction services. Therefore it is important to emphasize that PPPs involve a sharing of project responsibilities and risks between public owners of transportation facilities and their private sector partners - not an abdication of public authority over or responsibility for these important infrastructure assets. Arriving at an appropriate sharing of responsibilities, risks, and rewards with the private sector through a contractual partnership poses both a challenge and opportunity for public agencies seeking to rebuild and expedite their transportation programs. It is only through continuous contract administration that state and local transportation agencies can hold private project partners accountable for project performance in their areas of responsibility, consistent with the terms of the PPP contract agreement, while endeavoring to protect the interests of both public sponsor and private provider.
The uncertainty associated with introducing PPP approaches to state and local transportation programs and projects can be reduced through insights and guidance provided in the extensive literature on PPP programs and projects in the U.S. and around the world. See Appendix E for an extensive list of references on PPPs. Another source of insights on PPPs is documentation from actual transportation PPP projects in the form of case studies and cameos, as presented in the two companion reports to this PPP User Guidebook. See Appendix A for a summary of PPP project case studies presented in these reports.
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The information presented in this PPP Guidebook is designed to inform elected and appointed officials and agency leadership about PPP approaches based on insights provided by peer agencies in the U.S. and around the world which have successfully developed PPP programs and implemented PPP projects. Armed with this information, public officials will be better able to evaluate whether and how to use PPP approaches to leverage scarce public resources and expedite financing and delivery of essential transportation projects, while protecting the public interest. The guidebook draws significantly from the results of actual transportation PPP projects in the U.S. and other countries and the experiences of public and private partners involved in these projects. Hence the guidebook goes beyond the theoretical and hypothetical to provide practical insights into what needs to be considered and done to successfully develop and implement transportation projects using public-private partnership approaches.