This report identifies key governance challenges in the management of fiscal risks and contingent liabilities in Asia and the Pacific arising from public investments through public–private partnerships and state-owned enterprises. It highlights the importance of investment in quality infrastructure to overcome the trilemma of the overall infrastructure investment gap, limited fiscal space, and increasing debt. It shows that such investments need to be efficient—that is, they need to provide the right infrastructure delivering maximum economic benefits at the lowest cost. The report sets out practical insights as a resource for decision-makers.

Investment in infrastructure can be a driving force of the economic recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of shrinking fiscal space. Public-private partnerships (PPP) bring a promise of efficiency when carefully designed and managed, to avoid creating unnecessary fiscal risks. But fiscal illusions prevent an understanding the sources of fiscal risks, which arise in all infrastructure projects, and that in PPPs present specific characteristics that need to be addressed. PPP contracts are also affected by implicit fiscal risks when they are poorly designed, particularly when a government signs a PPP contract for a project with no financial sustainability. This paper reviews the advantages and inconveniences of PPPs, discusses the fiscal illusions affecting them, identifies a diversity of fiscal risks, and presents the essentials of PPP fiscal risk management.

This note discusses what finance ministries can do to ensure that public-private partnerships (PPPs) are used wisely. By inviting private participation in infrastructure development and service provision, PPPs can help improve public services. Yet, strong governance institutions are needed to manage risks and avoid unexpected costs from PPPs. While in the short term, PPPs may appear cheaper than traditional public investment, over time they can turn out to be more expensive and undermine fiscal sustainability, particularly when governments ignore or are unaware of their deferred costs and associated fiscal risks. To use PPPs wisely governments should (1) develop and implement clear rules for their use; (2) identify, quantify, and disclose PPP risks and expected costs; and (3) reform budget and government accounting frameworks to capture all fiscal costs comprehensively.

This guidebook offers training modules for the promotion of public-private partnerships in the delivery of public services. PPPs in theory are supposed to combine the best of both worlds. The private sector with its resources, management skills and technology; and the public sector with its regulatory actions and protection of the public interest provide a balance in delivering public service. PPPs though are also complex in nature, requiring different types of skills and new enabling institutions and they lead to changes in the status of public sector jobs. To work well, they require "good governance", that is, well-functioning institutions, transparent, efficient procedures and accountable and competent public and private sectors. This guidebook therefore seeks to elaborate best practice and is aimed at policymakers, government officials and the private sector.

"Policy-makers often call for expanding public spending on infrastructure, which includes a broad range of investments from roads and bridges to digital networks that will expand access to high-speed broadband. Some point to near-term macro-economic benefits and job creation, others focus on long-term effects on productivity and economic growth. This volume explores the links between infrastructure spending and economic outcomes, as well as key economic issues in the funding and management of infrastructure projects. It draws together research studies that describe the short-run stimulus effects of infrastructure spending, develop new estimates of the stock of U.S. infrastructure capital, and explore the incentive aspects of public-private partnerships (PPPs). A salient issue is the treatment of risk in evaluating publicly-funded infrastructure projects and in connection with PPPs. The goal of the volume is to provide a reference for researchers seeking to expand research on infrastructure issues, and for policy-makers tasked with determining the appropriate level of infrastructure spending"--

This paper investigates the emerging global landscape for public-private co-investments in infrastructure. The creation of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and other so-called “infrastructure investment platforms” are an attempt to tap into the pool of both public and private long-term savings in order to channel the latter into much needed infrastructure projects. This paper puts these new initiatives into perspective by critically reviewing the literature and experience with public private partnerships in infrastructure. It concludes by identifying the main challenges policy makers and other actors will need to confront going forward and to turn infrastructure into an asset class of its own.

This publication highlights how public–private partnerships (PPPs) can be effective to meet Asia's growing infrastructure needs. It shows how governments and their development partners can use PPPs to promote more inclusive and sustainable growth. The study finds that successful PPP projects are predicated on well-designed contracts, a stable economy, good governance and sound regulations, and a high level of institutional capacity to handle PPPs. It is the result of a collaboration between the Asian Development Bank, the Korea Development Institute, and other experts that supported the theme chapter "Sustaining Development through Public–Private Partnership" of the Asian Development Outlook 2017 Update.