Overall, the legal and regulatory frameworks in the three countries are sufficiently conducive for implementing infrastructure PPPs. But there is room for improvement. Indonesia and the Philippines need to streamline their legal and regulatory procedures to be able to resolve disputes efficiently and quickly. In the Republic of Korea, the government set up the Committee for Mediation of Public-Private Partnership Project Disputes for this very purpose. Disputes are not unusual in PPPs since they require large investments over a long time, and are susceptible to changes in business conditions and policy objectives. Being able to manage disputes is essential because they are not only costly and time-consuming, but, if unchecked, can wreck a partnership.
In Indonesia and the Philippines, officials working on PPPs need training on PPP rules and regulations, and to gain a thorough understanding of project-based concession agreements. Going by the Republic of Korea's experience, most PPP disputes are over toll fees, project costs, taxes, the interpretation and application of laws, refinancing gain sharing, and government payments.