Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, working in partnership with the Global Infrastructure Hub (GI Hub), has produced a tool for governments and stakeholders in developing economies to assist in building a pipeline of viable public-private partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects.
The GI Hub is an organization established by the G20 group of nations to foster innovative approaches to global infrastructure development. The tool forms part of the GI Hub’s G20 commitment to deliver guidance that will enable governments to take projects to market faster and more cost-effectively, and help to address the trillion dollar infrastructure gap worldwide.
The interactive online tool provides information on the risk allocation between the public and private sectors in PPP transactions, along with related information on measures to mitigate issues and typical government support arrangements. The tool includes analysis of 12 types of projects within the transport, energy and water and sanitation sectors. Also included is a blog forum in which Norton Rose Fulbright lawyers participate, allowing for further insight and discussion.
The primary focus is on those countries with limited or no prior experience of PPPs, but it is aimed at members and non-members of the G20 that wish to develop a program of PPP transactions to support the development and procurement of infrastructure.
Nick Merritt, Norton Rose Fulbright’s Global Head of Infrastructure, Mining and Commodities, commented:
“This is an important project which has seen collaboration from 13 of our offices to bring together insight that we have gained from over 20 years’ experience doing PPP deals around the world. PPP is an effective platform through which critical economic and social infrastructure can be procured, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to work with the GI Hub and make a contribution towards the delivery of infrastructure around the world.”
Mike Pikiel, Norton Rose Fulbright’s US Head of Infrastructure, Mining and Commodities, added:
“One of the key issues facing both governments and private sector parties in PPP transactions, particularly in emerging markets or with respect to new programs, is risk allocation and the amount of risk that is appropriately borne by each party. The tool that we have developed with GI Hub deals with this and provides a useful source of information to assist governments in understanding typical PPP risk allocation arrangements.”
Mark Moseley, GI Hub Senior Director, Legal Frameworks and Procurement Policy, said:
“Risk allocation is at the centre of every PPP project. The tool which Norton Rose Fulbright has developed will help governments – especially those in emerging markets – design infrastructure projects which can successfully deliver high-quality infrastructure services which meet public needs.
The Norton Rose Fulbright team working on this initiative included lawyers from Amsterdam, Bangkok, Bogota, Calgary, Johannesburg, London, Melbourne, Munich, New York, Ottawa, Paris, Singapore and Sydney.
About the risk allocation tool and report
The GI Hub worked in partnership with global law firm, Norton Rose Fulbright, to prepare the Annotated Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Risk Allocation Matrices. The contents of the report are based on the collective global experience of over 20 senior lawyers from the firm, in both advanced economies and emerging markets. The annotations in the report reflect positions reached in projects that have closed and the solutions founds in one project may not necessarily be right for another.
An interactive version of the tool, which includes a blog forum in which Norton Rose Fulbright lawyers participate, is available on the GI Hub website, at http://globalinfrastructurehub.org/allocating-risks-in-ppps/
About Norton Rose Fulbright
Norton Rose Fulbright is a global law firm. We provide the world’s preeminent corporations and financial institutions with a full business law service. We have 3800 lawyers and other legal staff based in more than 50 cities across Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.
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