'Public-Private Partnerships for Urban Water Utilities: A Review of Experiences in Developing Countries' analyzes the market growth of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in the developing world since 1990, and the performance of more than 65 large water PPP projects representing more than 100 million people for access, service quality, operational efficiency, and tariff levels. Although a relatively small portion of the water utilities in the developing world are operated under PPPs (about 7 percent in 2007), the urban population served by private water operators has grown every year since 1990. Despite many difficulties encountered by PPP projects and a few contract terminations, a large majority of contracts awarded since 1990 are still in place. The track record for improving service and efficiency reaffirms the value of PPPs to help turn around poorly performing water utilities, even though the level of private financing did not match initial expectations. Over time, a more realistic market has developed, the number of private investors from developing countries has grown, and contract designs have become more pragmatic concerning risk allocations between partners. The water sector has many features that set it apart from other infrastructure sectors. This book suggests the need for careful consideration of those specificities to successfully involve private operators. Although concessions with private financing have worked in a few places, contractual arrangements that combine private operation with public financing appear to be the most sustainable option in many countries. Policy makers, stakeholders, and donors need to remain heavily engaged in the water sector, especially in the poorest countries and during a global financial crisis. This book contributes to a better understanding of the various options to tackle the many challenges of providing water and sanitation services to urban populations in the developing world.

Since 1990, many national and local governments in developing countries have contracted with private companies to operate or manage their water utilities under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) contracts. The assumption was that the private sector will improve utilities by bringing in new capital, raising the level of staff expertise, and making operations more cost-effective and efficient. More than 260 PPP contracts have been signed to provide water services in more than forty developing countries. The recourse to private operators has been accompanied, however, by a good deal of controversy. Several high profile contracts, such as in Buenos Aires, were cancelled in recent years following conflicts between the public and private partners. This has raised doubts about the suitability of PPPs to help improve water services in developing countries. Yet, there has been only little objective data available in the literature about the performance of PPPs, and the resulting debate has been based more on ideology than fact. This study attempts to redress the shortage of information by examining, through objective indicators, the actual performance of PPPs in developing countries over the last fifteen years. It collected data from as many as 65 PPP projects, representing a served population of about one hundred million people half of the urban population served at one point in time since 1990 by private water operators, and 80 percent of the population served by a private operator for more than 3 years and under a contract signed before 2003.

This publication explores the challenge of providing universal access to water and sanitation in fast-growing cities in Asia and the Pacific. It highlights the potential of well-managed public–private partnerships (PPPs) to help meet this challenge and discusses lessons from seven water sector PPPs in the region. It explains how countries can strengthen water governance, foster enabling environments, and design tailored strategies to promote successful PPPs. The report emphasizes that governments can work with the private sector to enhance value for money and provide equitable urban water and sanitation access that will help improve lives.

This book examines the role played by business in urban water governance by analyzing the evolution of the global private water sector along with four public-private partnerships in Mexico and the U.S. The local nature of water services often hides the global developments behind the rise of transnational water corporations, which have gone from being local operators to becoming dynamic and powerful actors within an interconnected transnational space for water. This book focuses on the French groups Veolia and Suez, two of the most prominent private actors in global water governance, and the development and adaptation strategies of both companies in the cities of Aguascalientes, Mexico City, Atlanta, and Milwaukee over the past 30 years. Drawing on over 100 interviews conducted with corporate executives, public authorities, and local users of water services, this book moves beyond the simplistic dichotomy of the public-private debate and develops a theoretical framework that analyzes the economic and political power wielded by transnational business actors in global water governance. Not only does the book explain how Veolia and Suez strategically mobilize resources at difference scales in order to expand their global operations, but it also provides a nuanced picture of how state regulation remains of central importance to understanding the dynamics and evolution of the global water sector. Students and scholars interested in business and the environment, including public-private partnerships, business management and transnational corporations, and water governance, will find this book of great interest as will professionals and policymakers working in these fields.

Public sector funding and resources are often inadequate to meet increasing demands for investment and effective management, and a growing case history shows increasing involvement by the private sector in provision of infrastructure and services through PPP arrangements. The objective of this book is to determine, and make recommendations on, means of optimizing the use of Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in development of infrastructure whilst ensuring the sustainable long term provision of water and waste water services. The focus is on providing detailed recommendations on contractual issues and contract structures to achieve this objective. Public Private Partnerships in the Water Sector - Innovation and Financial Sustainability: Identifies what is needed to establish effective and sustainable water and wastewater service reform when using a PPP arrangement, and importantly how those issues can be addressed contractually. Provides specific recommendations of a comprehensive and detailed approach to contract drafting to ensure effective, sustainable and long term provision of water and wastewater services, including an approach for adaptation of public procurement procedures for PPP arrangements. Recommends a proposed approach to dealing with the influence of imperfect or unavailable data on the long term effectiveness or sustainability. This is a practical and pragmatic book in which the authors share their considerable experience on devising and implementing PPPs in the water sector. It is aimed primarily at practitioners working with developing countries but its recommendations will also be suitable for application in developed countries. It is also a useful reference for postgraduates and academics studying infrastructure development. See also: Public and Private Participation in the Water and Wastewater Sector - Developing Sustainable Legal Mechanisms, Cledan Mandri-Perrott, 2009 Private Sector Participation in Water Infrastructure, Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), 2009.

Historically, public utilities have been mainly delivered by the public sector. However, as a result of financial and technological constraints faced by public sector entities in developing infrastructure facilities and due to management related inefficiencies in the public sector, various alternative governance mechanisms have been considered by governments in developing public utility infrastructure and providing the related services to the end-users. Consequently, for nearly three decades now countries have relied on the procurement model of public-private partnerships (PPP) to finance, develop and manage infrastructure facilities in the water sector. In order to analyze the viability of PPP as an alternative governance model for water, it is important to examine a sample of PPP projects from around the world and analyze the reasons for their successes and failures. For this purpose, Institute of Water Policy, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, has undertaken a research project to compile a database of PPP projects in the urban water supply sector in different regions (Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, Australia and Middle East and North Africa). This paper presents a brief analysis of PPPs as a water governance architecture based on the study of 672 PPP projects from the said database, the selection being made on the basis of availability of data, and presents the preliminary findings on current usage of PPP for water governance.

This book focuses on participation of the public and private sectors in urban water management and on the role of water pricing. It discusses in-depth topics such as public choices of urban water service management; dynamics of privatization and regulation of water services; adoption of water demand instruments; impacts of price and non-price policies on residential water demand; quality of water services; lessons from not-for-profit public-private partnerships; and critical examinations of models and projections of demands in water utility resource planning in England and Wales. Appropriateness of water prices and tariffs in achieving socially desirable outcomes is also analyzed and a global survey of urban water tariffs is approached with a focus on sustainability, efficiency and fairness. This book was originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of Water Resources Management.