THE Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), in cooperation with its development partners the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, Multilateral Investment Fund, and the Public Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility, has established a US$1.2 million Regional PPP Support Facility, based in its Barbados headquarters.
Given the high infrastructure needs and severe fiscal challenges faced by countries in the Region, policy-makers are increasingly turning to Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), as a means of delivering infrastructure services. Regional governments would therefore benefit from receiving practical assistance in adopting sound PPP policies, and advisory assistance to implement projects.
PPPs are still relatively new to the Caribbean. Over the past ten years, some PPPs have been successfully implemented, delivering high-quality infrastructure facilities and providing value for money to both governments and consumers alike. However, in many cases the complexity of the transaction process – and lack of capacity within governments – has meant long delays in delivering projects; many of which languish for years and ultimately fail to launch.
With support from its multilateral development partners, CDB has launched the first phase of activities under the Facility, designed to assist its Borrowing Member Countries in the development and implementation of PPPs. These activities include: