Learning from water sector reforms in Europe and Asia

Abstract

Water reforms in eastern Europe and central Asia (ECA) have their peculiarities defined by the historical conditions, where the main drivers were the socialist regime in the second half of the 20th century, its collapse and consecutive reforms targeting European Union integration. This paper presents a number of models of public–private partnership (PPP) in the water sector that are already working in the ECA region in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary and Poland. The experience of the focus countries shows that the PPP transformed water utilities into more dynamic businesses, yet several problems undermining private sector efficiency exist, including the lack of infrastructure commitment on the side of the private partners and the lack of capacity within municipalities. The recommendations to improve the performance of PPP include insurance of transparency throughout the PPP project cycle, political cycle awareness, a planned employee reduction strategy, and an increase in quality of water and services as the strongest factor influencing the public’s perception.