Centre for Sustainable Development: Research Focus
Public Private Partnerships in Transport: Trends and Theory
Investigator: Dr. Champika Liyanage, Senior Lecturer in Quantity Surveying
Project Overview
Public Private Partnerships – PPP or P3 – (Figure 1) are now commonly used in many countries; having
been recognised as important mechanisms for funding major public sector infrastructure projects. In
Europe for example, PPP was advanced by the need to restrain public sector spending, to leverage
public funds and exploit private sector skills. Most EU member states consider PPP an essential tool in
attracting financial resources for high priority investments, such as in the transport sector, which has
especially benefited from PPPs.
A significant PPP feature is that their approach and application differs significantly between countries,
due to (for example) political, legal, cultural, economic and technological impacts. This is equally so in
the transport sector with respect to PPP structures and practical implementation of projects. This
situation has hindered the development of a consistent approach to PPPs across the EU and limited the
learning process. Therefore, many governments and central institutions (such as the European
Investment Bank and the World Bank) have set up respective PPP units. However, their main emphasis
has been on ‘front-end’ issues such as PPP justification, procurement process, initial negotiations and
contractual issues of risk sharing. This is in line with the general research trend on the subject of PPPs,
which in principle, has been descriptive and focused on the pre-contract project period.
Hence, little research has been undertaken concerning the operation of PPPs, their performance, and
where applicable, their transfer back to the public sector. This study addresses this shortfall.
Figure 1. PPP: Public-Private-Partnership
Given the situation outlined above, the aim
of this research is to develop a theoretical
basis for PPPs in the transport sector,
grounded on multidisciplinary analysis of
an extensive cross-sectoral and
transnational empirical data-set. This
constitutes a shift from a descriptive to
normative approach; allowing for the
prediction and forecasting of variations,
impacts and outcomes. The ultimate goal is
to consolidate knowledge dispersed among
different disciplines and countries and to
use this knowledge in the development of
innovative and sustainable procurement
and public service delivery strategies.
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Research Findings and Impact
The research has confirmed a need for a common PPP theoretical background, requiring input and
collaboration from all EU countries to share knowledge and develop a holistic framework by learning
from each other’s experiences. Thus, collecting data from suitable case studies across Europe was
important to satisfy the research objectives. To compare and systematically test concepts and logic
relations, a respective case study protocol was developed to capture the particularities and important
factors of PPPs in the transport sector. The framework (Figure 2) provides the ‘story telling’ basis for the
case study and embraces all key aspects of the PPP arrangement. These are as shown adjacent Figure 2.
Figure 2. The Framework
Who
Whom
Public Sector
Involved
Private Sector
Involved
Whichway
Corporate
Strategy
Where
Project Location
When
Timing the
implementation
Whole
What
The project
Macroeconomic Infleunce
Why
Scope for PPP
Who: initiator
Why: reason this model of public project delivery was
selected
What: scope of project
Whom: required qualities of the private entity (ies)
Which way: tendering process and the structure of
the contractual arrangement
Where: project is location describing both the locality
and the institutional setting
When: timing of the contractual implementation and
the project timeline
Whole: macroeconomic impact on the project. This is
of significant importance for projects in the transport
sector where demand is derived from other activities
correlated to macroeconomic conditions
Who-for is also added to the above contextual
framework describing the users.
These ‘story line’ elements are also seen as subjects requiring ‘normalisation’. Thus far, data has been
collected from over 45 case studies and currently the analysis is underway to developing from this, a
‘Wiki’ PPP database.
Further Information
In the first instance, see: http://www.ppptransport.eu/. More detailed description of this research may
also be found in the following academic publications:


Gunatilake, S., Liyanage, C. and Akintoye, A. (2013). Implementing Sustainable Construction in PFI
projects. In: Akintoye, A., Liyanage, C. and Goulding, S. (Eds.). Proceedings of The PPP International
Conference 2013 – Body of Knowledge. University of Central Lancashire, pp. 291 - 300, ISBN:
9781901922912.
Roumboutsos, A., Farrell, S., Liyanage, C. L. and Macário, R. (2013). COST Action TU1001 Public
Private Partnerships in Transport: Trends & Theory, P3T3 - Discussion Papers (Part II Case Studies).
ISBN 978-88-97781-61-5
Dr. Champika Liyanage may be emailed at: [email protected]
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