PPPs are unique financial structures, drawing funds from both the public and private sectors. While each PPP will be slightly different, most will rely on the formation of a special purpose vehicle (SPV)-that is, a solitary financial entity, legally separate from each partner. This ensures shared governance between the partners, but also allows the SPV to engage quickly and effectively with a number of other entities-from government institutions, to vendors, and the general public.
In general, a PPP will engage with six different types of entities: contractors, operators, governments, users, lenders, and equity investors.
The passage of funds and value from each of these parties is demonstrated in the chart on the next page. It is worth noting, however, that the chart does not include the externalities which are transferred to the general public. To clarify, though these externalities do reflect real, tangible value, they are not included in this chart because they do not constitute a specific financial transaction.