PPPs in Road Infrastructure

Abstract

PPPs are based on the implicit premise that the market stands for better efficiencies than the government and partnership with the private sector will provide access to its more efficient technical and managerial resources in addition to its capital. They have also been claimed to cut down on time and cost over-runs. This chapter, which provides findings from PPPs in highways from India, reveals that PPPs have multiple problems in their implementation. What is significant is that the public partners are responsible for many of these problems, although the private developers have also contributed through their manipulation of contractual obligations, land grabbing, and under-reporting of traffic to make illegitimate profits. A more active role of the state in the governance of PPPs, so as to make them more effective modes of delivery of services, is suggested. The chapter also recommends introspection on the philosophy of “single-size-fits-all” solution to address the infrastructure ills within any country.