By: Robert Prieto, Senior Vice President, Fluor

Public Private Partnerships are just at the earliest stages of gaining traction in what has the potential to be one of the largest Public Private Partnership marketplaces in the world. The US today however is lacking not just the experience of many other countries that have gone down this path but also the regulatory framework necessary to create successful and transparent processes which are key to broader development of this market. In some ways the US market is facing the same regulatory challenges as those faced by developing countries embarking on a PPP approach but without the advice traditionally provided by the various international financial institutions.

The paper presents a summary of observations on the regulatory experience framework that exists internationally as a guide to facilitating US PPP regulatory development. Specific advice on regulatory model design, desirable regulatory objectives, available policy tools, forms of regulation, contract and other issues to be addressed by the regulator and bidding process design is provided with a focus on aspects unique to the US PPP marketplace. The paper includes "lessons learned" from the governmental perspective that provide a good checklist for those responsible for PPP program implementation.