| Title | Authors | Date |
| An Empirical Assessment of Private Sector Participation in Electricity and Water Distribution in Developing and Transition Countries | Katharina Gassner, Alexander Popov and Nataliya Pushak | 6/07/2007 |
| World Bank Publication |
| The paper analyzes panel data from 302 utilities with private sector participation (PSP) and 928 state owned enterprises (SOEs) in 71 developing and transition countries in order to evaluate the impact of PSP on firm performance in the electricity distribution sector and the sector for water and sanitation services. The paper finds robust evidence in the global sample for a strong performance impact of private participation. The research also finds a link between the form of PSP and the estimated performance impact, with the strongest effects in the electricity sector realized by utilities whose assets were divested to the private investor, and by utilities managed under concession contracts in the water sector. |
| Are Small-Scale Providers Here to Stay? Kenya Offers New Services to Help | Meera Mehta, Kameel Virjee, and Serah Njoroge | 5/01/2007 |
| PPIAF Publication |
| Small-scale providers of water services are no longer seen as merely temporary substitutes for formal utilities. In many developing countries governments and donors increasingly view them as long-term partners in the work to extend and improve water services, particularly as governments accelerate efforts to meet water targets associated with the Millennium Development Goals. But a host of problems complicate efforts to make small-scale providers productive partners, including their lack of access to finance. In Kenya, a collaborative program is bringing together community-based organizations and microlenders to provide better water services to poor people—and generating lessons for similar initiatives. (Size 0.99MB) |
| How to Create Value for Cross-Border Infrastructure Projects | Rita Nangia and Evangeline Sucgang | 5/01/2007 |
| Joint ADB and PPIAF Publication |
| A new product is available from Asian Development Bank to help governments design cross-border infrastructure projects. Created as part of the Phnom Penh Plan for Development Management’s capacity building program for the Greater Mekong Region, this guide will be useful for all governments developing regional infrastructure programs. |
| Private Participation in Electricity: The Challenge of Achieving Commercial Viability and Improving Services | Bernard Tenenbaum and Ada Karina Izaguirre | 5/01/2007 |
| PPIAF Publication | | |
| Private involvement in electricity in developing countries has stabilized at modest levels since 2001. The focus remains on greenfield power plants, but the top 10 sponsors and countries are changing: Mexico, Bulgaria, Poland and the Slovak Republic have been added to the list. |
| Review of Risk Mitigation Instruments for Infrastructure Financing and Recent Trends and Development | Tomoko Matsukawa and Odo Habeck | 5/01/2007 |
| World Bank Publication |
| The paper reviews risk mitigation instruments (i.e. guarantees and insurance) used in the financing of public and private infrastructure projects in developing countries. The objective of the paper is to provide a concise yet comprehensive guide as well as reference information for practitioners of infrastructure financing, including government officials and private sector financiers. The paper summarizes the characteristics of major instruments and providers, discusses recent trends and development in meeting risk mitigation needs, and presents 18 transaction cases (Appendix A) and the instruments offered by 30 multilateral/bilateral institutions including World Bank, MIGA and IFC (Appendix B). |
| Government Guarantees Allocating and Valuing Risk in Privately Financed Infrastructure Projects | Timothy C. Irwin | 4/15/2007 |
| World Bank Publication |
| This book aims to help governments respond to such requests. As well as seeking to make precise the oft-invoked principle that risks should be allocated to those best placed to manage them, it explains how governments can value the guarantees they are thinking of granting and how they can modify aspects of public-sector management to improve the likely quality of their decisions about guarantees. |
| Unsolicited Infrastructure Proposals: How Some Countries Introduce Competition and Transparency | John T Hodges, Georgina Dellacha | 2/1/2007 |
| PPIAF (Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility) Publication |
| This paper assesses the major issues and impact of “unsolicited proposals” which are not requested by a government and usually originate within the private sector. It suggests some unsolicited proposals, when subject to competition and transparency, may contribute to the overall infrastructure goals of countries. |
| Revival of private participation in developing country infrastructure | Michel Kerf and Ada Karina Izaguirre | 1/1/2007 |
| PPIAF (Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility) Gridline Paper |
| This 'PPIAF Gridline' takes a look at infrastructure lending between 2004 and 2005 which shows that distribution of investment and the allocation of risks between public and private parties is shifting |
| The Challenge of Reducing Non-Revenue Water (NRW) in Developing Countries How the Private Sector Can Help: A Look at Performance-Based Service Contracting | Bill Kingdom, Roland Liemberger, Philippe Marin | 12/1/2006 |
| Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Board Discussion Paper Series Paper No. 8 |
| In this report, a number of case studies, taken from some of the largest and most recent performance-based NRW contracts, are studied and discussed in terms of their technical and financial performance. Lessons learned from the case studies are analyzed, showing the potential benefits of NRW performance-based service contracting with the private sector. |
| Public-Private Partnerships in Water Supply and Sanitation - Recent Trends and New Opportunities | Jamal Saghir | 11/29/2006 |
| Presentation |
| Key note presentation by Jamal Saghir, World Bank Director for Water and Energy, at the at the OECD Global Forum on Sustainable Development (November 2006), an initiative to promote dialogue between stakeholders, hosted by the OECD and co-financed by the World Bank. (Size: 0.9 MB) |
| Urban infrastructure finance from private operators : what have we learned from recent experience ? | Patricia Clarke Annez | 11/1/2006 |
| World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 4045 |
| The author examines the role of private participation in infrastructure (PPI) in mobilizing finance for key urban services, that is, urban roads, municipal solid waste management, and water and sanitation since the early 1990s when private participation came to be seen as a key element in infrastructure development. Her review indicates that for financing urban services, PPI has disappointed-playing a far less significant role than was hoped for, and which might be expected given the attention it has received and continues to receive in strategies to mobilize financing for infrastructure. The author's findings suggest a more pragmatic and selective approach to the focus on PPI as a source of finance, and more focus on the array of some of the fundamental steps, among them strengthening the public finances of cities to improve both the capacity to deliver services and to reduce the risks that private investors must take when they invest in urban infrastructure. (Size: 0.28 MB) |
| Public-Private Partnership Units: What Are They, and What Do They Do? | Mark Dutz, Clive Harris, Inderbir Dhingra, and Chris Shugart | 9/11/2006 |
| World Bank Public Policy Journal Issue 311 |
| As governments turn to the private sector to provide services once delivered by the public sector, they must learn new skills. An increasingly common way to provide the new capacities needed is to establish public-private partnership units—as new agencies or as special cells within a cross-sectoral ministry such as finance or planning. Making the right choices on what roles such units play, where they are located, and how conflicts of interest are managed is critical in their success. This Note reviews the experience. (Size: 0.2 MB) |
| Reforming Power Markets in Developing Countries: What Have We Learned? | John E. Besant-Jones | 9/1/2006 |
| World Bank Energy and Mining Sector Board Discussion Paper series No. 19 |
| This paper compiles the lessons of experience from the reforming of power markets of developing countries and transition economies. The paper acts a sourcebook of about 240 references to this documented experience and complements the World Bank’s Operational Guidance Note for Public and Private Roles in the Supply of Electricity Services by compiling lessons of this experience that help in applying the Note’s guidance. (Size: 1.3 MB) |
| Infrastructure at the Crossroads: Lessons from 20 Years of World Bank Experience | World Bank | 9 /1/2006 |
| World Bank Publication |
| This publication brings together lessons from the last two decades of World Bank engagement in infrastructure. It analyzes trends in the Bank's infrastructure lending, describes the evolution of the external environment and the Bank's own strategic priorities, and presents lessons about project design and appraisal, poverty focus, private sector participation, environmental and social sustainability, the issue of corruption, and stakeholder communications. (Size: 0.62 MB) |
| The growing and evolving business of private participation in airports | Doug Andrew and Silviu Dochia | 9/1/2006 |
| PPIAF (Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility) Gridlines Note No.15 |
| Private sector management and financing of airports has continued to expand in developing countries. Long-term concessions for airports are the predominant model today, with governments often taking a minority shareholding in the venture. Careful attention to policy design, regulatory issues, and management of concessions will continue to be important in ensuring that private participation delivers efficient and effective airport infrastructure services. (Size: 1.0MB) |
| Private participation in water | Philippe Marin and Ada Karina Izaguirre | 9/1/2006 |
| PPIAF (Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility) Gridlines Note No.14 |
| In the water sector of developing countries the investment boom of the late 1990s has been followed by declining investment flows and the cancellation or distress of several high-profile projects. Enthusiasm has been replaced by doubts. But recent data paint a more nuanced picture. Activity in 2005 suggests that private participation in the water sector is entering a new phase. New private activity is focusing on smaller projects, a few countries, and bulk facilities. Contractual arrangements involving utilities are combining private operation with public financing. And new players are entering the market. (Size: 1.1MB) |
| Financing infrastructure in Africa | Robert Sheppard, Stephan von Klaudy, and Geeta Kumar | 9/1/2006 |
| PPIAF (Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility) Gridlines Note No.13 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa receives only a small share of private investment in infrastructure. One reason for this is its difficulties in getting project finance difficulties that stem from the low creditworthiness of most African countries, the limits of local financial markets, and the risk profiles typical of infrastructure projects. Whether the region can attract more private foreign currency funding for infrastructure will depend in part on the ability to reduce foreign exchange risks. But in some countries local currency sources, especially local capital markets, also offer good potential. (Size: 1.1MB) |
| Using management and lease affermage contracts for water supply | Klas Ringskog, Mary Ellen Hammond, and Alain Locussol | 9/1/2006 |
| PPIAF (Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility) Gridlines Note No.12 |
| As governments in developing countries seek to expand access to water supply and improve the quality of service, they are considering a range of options for public-private partnerships. Yet proposals to involve the private sector have often met with concerns—about tariff hikes, staff cutbacks, and ability to reduce inefficiency and expand access to service among the poor. And experience with the more than 300 contracts bringing private operators into water supply in 1990-2004 has been mixed. How have water utilities performed under management and lease-affermage contracts? Eight case studies across developing regions show that performance has generally improved—across a range of measures. (Size: 1.2 MB) |
| Peru: Rethinking Private Sector Participation | The World Bank | 6/30/2006 |
| World Bank Report No. 32674-PE |
| The Government of Peru has launched an aggressive second phase of infrastructure concessions covering all sectors, including transport, rural telephony, gas, energy and water and sanitation. To help inform the second phase, this report provides an in-depth analysis of the past program in Peru by analyzing the process, design and impact of the program as well as the public perceptions. The report encompasses private participation progress and highlights; characteristics of the privatization and concession processes; impacts of private participation; public perceptions of private participation; and a road map for the Peru Concession Program. The report concludes that to move forward successfully, a number of adjustments are required on process design and financing. (Size: 14.7 MB) |
| Getting the Assumptions Right: Private Sector Participation Transaction Design and the Poor in Southwest Sri Lanka | Caroline van den Berg, Subhrendu Pattanayak, Jui-Chen Yang and Herath Gunatilake | 06/01/2006 |
| Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Board Discussion Paper Series Paper No. 7 |
| This paper investigates how a set of basic assumptions on service coverage, service levels, tariffs, and subsidies in the proposed transactions in Southwest Wri Lanka held up against consumer preferences. |
| Infrastructure and public utilities privatization in developing countries | Emmanuelle Auriol and Pierre M. Picard | 6/1/2006 |
| World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 3950 |
| The paper analyzes governments' tradeoff between fiscal benefits and consumer surplus in privatization reforms of noncompetitive industries in developing countries. Under privatization, the control rights are transferred to private interests so that public subsidies decline. This benefit for tax-payers comes at the cost of price increases for consumers. In developing countries, tight budget constraints imply that privatization may be optimal for low profitability segments. For highly profitable public utilities, the combination of allocative inefficiency and critical budgetary conditions may favor public ownership. Finally, once a market segment gives room for more than one firm, governments prefer to regulate the industry. In the absence of a credible regulatory agency, regulation is achieved through public ownership. (Size: 0.48 MB) |
| The handshake: why do governments and firms sign private sector participation deals? Evidence from the water and sanitation sector in developing countries | Olivia Jensen and Frédéric Blanc-Brude | 6/1/2006 |
| World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 3937 |
| This paper uses a new dataset of private sector participation (PSP) projects for water and sanitation in developing countries to examine the determinants of the number of projects signed for each country between 1990 and 2004. The new dataset improves on existing sources, in particular in its coverage of projects with local investors, and provides adequate data for cross-country regression analysis. The authors use a negative binomial regression model to investigate the factors influencing the number of PSP projects in a sample of 60 developing countries with 460 PSP projects. The regression results provide support for the hypotheses that PSP is greater in larger markets where the ability to pay is higher and where governments are fiscally constrained. The authors test several indicators of institutional quality and find that these are generally significant in determining the number of projects signed for each country. (Size: 0.43 MB) |
| The impact of privatization on the performance of the infrastructure sector: the case of electricity distribution in Latin American countries | Luis Andres, Vivien Foster and José Luis Guasch | 6/1/2006 |
| World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 3936 |
| The authors analyze the impact of privatization on the performance of 116 electric utilities in 10 Latin American countries. The analysis makes a number of contributions to the literature on changes in infrastructure ownership. The authors also apply two different methodologies and, when needed, the authors used firm-specific time trends to better understand the outcomes. The results suggest that changes in ownership generate significant improvements in labor productivity, efficiency, and product and service quality, and that most of those changes occur in the transition period. Improvements in the post transition period-beyond two years after the change in ownership-are much more modest. (Size: 0.36 MB) |
| How to improve regulatory transparency | Lorenzo Bertolini | 6/1/2006 |
| PPIAF (Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility) Gridlines Note No.11 |
| Managing the different and often conflicting interests and expectations of stakeholders—the government, consumers, service providers—is a demanding task for infrastructure regulators. Transparency can be a big help. A core principle of good regulatory governance, transparency creates credibility for regulatory decisions and helps foster sustainable investment in infrastructure. How can policymakers and regulators best improve regulatory transparency? A recent PPIAF-funded review of international experience identifies emerging lessons. (Size: 1.7 MB) |
| Meeting water needs in Vietnam | Bill Kingdom and Paul Reddel | 6/1/2006 |
| PPIAF (Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility) Gridlines Note No.10 |
| Bringing in the private sector to provide water has often been a contentious idea, largely because of a perception that people consider water supply to be their natural right and something to be provided by government. In Vietnam the issue is further complicated: given the history of a strongly centralized economy, would the private sector be willing or able to respond to new opportunities in water infrastructure? Pilot projects testing a new approach in two Vietnamese towns provide encouragement: Allowing communities a voice in determining how water will be delivered and at what cost can lead to viable and politically acceptable solutions. And the local private sector is responding to the new opportunities. (Size: 1.7 MB) |
| Reaching unserved communities in Africa | Mukami Kariuki, Jordan Schwartz, and Michael Schur | 6/1/2006 |
| PPIAF (Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility) Gridlines Note No.9 |
| In many African countries public utilities have failed to provide adequate service to small towns and periurban and rural areas. Sometimes small-scale private service providers have stepped in, bringing basic services to unserved, often poor communities. With urban and especially periurban populations set to grow at unprecedented rates in Africa, and service coverage continuing to lag, governments and donors have begun to recognize that small-scale providers have an increasingly critical role to play. They have also begun to focus on the importance of creating an environment that enables these providers to supply good quality service. (Size: 1.8 MB) |
| Reform, private capital needed to develop infrastructure in Africa | James Leigland and William Butterfield | 5 /1/2006 |
| PPIAF (Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility) Gridlines Note No.8 |
| In Sub-Saharan Africa the story of private participation in infrastructure has been largely one of telecommunications. With other sectors taken into account, the levels of private activity have been low for the past 15 years. Still, the overwhelming need for infrastructure has motivated regional economic organizations to push for an ambitious agenda of private participation. But to begin solving Africa’s infrastructure investment problems will also require broad institutional reform along with greater financial commitments by governments and donors. The private sector appears capable of supplying only a fraction of the estimated US$5–12 billion a year in additional infrastructure finance that Africa needs to meet its Millennium Development Goals for infrastructure. (Size: 1.7 MB) |
| Responding to surging demand for PPIAF assistance in Africa | James Leigland | 5 /1/2006 |
| PPIAF (Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility) Gridlines Note No.7 |
| A new view of private participation in infrastructure appears to be emerging among public officials in Africa. Many now seem to agree that developing infrastructure is critical for reducing poverty and promoting sustained economic growth, that the private sector has an essential contribution to make in this effort, and that while expanding the private sector’s participation in infrastructure is challenging under any circumstances, it is more difficult in Africa than anywhere else. This new view has led to a surge in demand for assistance from PPIAF, and PPIAF is responding through a strategy combining its traditional “upstream” work with a greater focus on innovative new approaches to private participation in infrastructure. (Size: 1.6 MB) |
| Lifting constraints to public-private partnerships | Bhavna Bhatia and Neeraj Gupta | 5 /1/2006 |
| PPIAF (Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility) Gridlines Note No.6 |
| For countries in South Asia, bridging gaps in infrastructure is key to achieving goals for growth and poverty reduction. Over the years governments have underinvested in infrastructure assets and especially in maintaining them. Private investment has also been limited. Today policymakers increasingly recognize that public-private partnerships in infrastructure offer the most promise for developing infrastructure and improving services. How to ensure that such partnerships can succeed? Act on critical policy, regulatory, and institutional reforms, pay close attention to the design of transactions, and tackle key constraints to private participation. (Size: 1.8 MB) |
| Expanding the frontiers of telecom markets through PPP and reforms | Robert Stephens, Jorge Bossio, and Jean-Christophe Ngo | 5 /1/2006 |
| PPIAF (Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility) Gridlines Note No.5 |
| Peru introduced private participation in telecommunications in the early 1990s, along with wide-ranging reforms fostering competition and independent regulation. These efforts attracted some US$8.3 billion in private investment in the sector in 1990–2004. To help bring telephone service closer to Peru’s poorest and most isolated areas, a pioneering fund offered subsidies to attract investment by private operators. Initial efforts led to impressive achievements, though slow implementation left room for improvement. A PPIAF-funded assessment of the first projects helped design the next generation of initiatives— and pointed to lessons for other developing countries. (Size: 1.6 MB) |
| Is the public sector comparator right for developing countries? | James Leigland | 4 /1/2006 |
| PPIAF (Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility) Gridlines Note No.4 |
| African officials have shown new interest in infrastructure projects involving private participation. But with so little experience with such projects, these officials often have limited knowledge about how best to assess their “value for money.” Some experts have suggested that developing countries use the method centering on the public sector comparator, already adopted by South Africa. But this method has come under criticism in some industrial countries. The debate about its use in the industrial world raises questions about whether it is appropriate in developing countries. (Size: 1.6 MB) |
| The role of developing country firms in infrastructure | Michael Schur, Stephan von Klaudy, and Georgina Dellacha | 4 /1/2006 |
| PPIAF (Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility) Gridlines Note No.3 |
| Developing country investors have emerged as a major source of investment finance for infrastructure projects with private participation. Indeed, in 1998–2004 these investors accounted for more of this finance in transport across developing regions—and for more in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa—than did investors from developed countries. For policymakers this development suggests a need to rethink the criteria used in selecting investors in schemes for private participation, which have been biased toward large international operators. (Size: 1.7 MB) |
| Armenia travels the bumpy road to all-day electricity supply | Gevorg Sargsyan, Ani Balabanyan, and Denzel Hankinson | 4 /1/2006 |
| PPIAF (Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility) Gridlines Note No.2 |
| Armenia’s power sector has suffered many setbacks: in the late 1980s an earthquake that took its major nuclear plant off-line, and in the early 1990s the collapse of the Soviet Union, economic blockade, and repeated sabotage of a new gas pipeline—all of which severely disrupted fuel supply. Technical and commercial problems further crippled operations. Armenians endured hard winters with barely two hours of electricity a day. The government set out to reform and privatize the sector, persevering through setbacks and learning from initial failure. Its persistence paid off: today the system runs efficiently and delivers power 24 hours a day. (Size: 1.6 MB) |
| Transforming telecoms in Afghanistan | Bhavna Bhatia and Neeraj Gupta | 4 /1/2006 |
| PPIAF (Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility) Gridlines Note No.1 |
| Afghanistan has transformed its telecommunications from a fragmented system serving few people to a modern one putting Afghans in touch with one another and with the global economy— all in just a few years. The credit goes to the government, which acted quickly to promote private entry—and mobile operators responded. This experience demonstrates that even in a poor, war-torn environment the right policy and regulatory framework can lead to rapid rollout of competitive wireless services. (Size: 1.7 MB) |
| Rebuilding Infrastructure: Policy Options for Attracting Private Funds after Conflict | Jordan Schwartz and Pablo Halkyard | 3/17/2006 |
| World Bank Public Policy Journal Issue 306 |
| Postconflict countries have had difficulty attracting private investment in infrastructure, and their growth and stability have suffered as a result. But the success of a few countries hints at policy initiatives that governments could pursue to close this destabilizing gap in investment. The emphasis should be on making sure that sector reforms go far enough, getting the timing and sequencing of the reforms right, reducing investor risk, and recognizing the importance of small-scale providers. (Size: 0.2 MB) |
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