Firstly, what this paper is all about is the brief discussion of the definition, necessity, prospects and problems of taking Public-Private Partnership (PPP) forward in Bangladesh with a case study. I will try to show the prospects of PPP from three important aspects such as public sector, private sector and from the beneficial aspects of public or users. Secondly, this paper will show some prospective sectors that should be prioritized under PPP initiatives like power and energy sector, telecommunication sector, port infrastructure sector etc. Notably here, three government organizations are
involved in the project implementation by the private sector under PPP initiative. So far the direct assistance of these organizations has enabled implementation of 27 projects of which 18 projects are in the power and energy sector, 6 projects in the telecommunication sector, 2 projects in the infrastructure sector and 1 project in the information technology sector. Lastly after presenting a case study, I will try to come up with a conclusion of the discussion with some sort of recommendations to make the PPP initiatives more fruitful in Bangladesh.
There is a lot of discussions about public-private partnership programs (PPP). The government wants to take the economy to higher trajectory of growth. As a vehicle to attain this higher growth, investment in infrastructure development, especially power and energy, ports, communication, supply of drinking water and waste management, education and health will be given highest priority. A huge investment is required to achieve this target. The government alone cannot provide such a huge amount of resources. Past experience shows that it has been difficult to ensure economic use of publicresources and quality of service delivery when government is involved in infrastructure development and maintenance because its involvement is not determined through a competitive market process.
The implementation and funding of any infrastructure development projects is a long drawn process and the investment risk is much higher. In many cases, the investment may not be commercially viable and it is difficult to attract private investment. In this context, the government will be taking special steps to involve the private sector under public private partnership to meet the probable investment gap. The government feels that successful implementation of PPP concept will open up the door for increased flow of investment from both local and foreign investors.
It is pointed out that PPP projects were successful in the past in our country. According to the Finance Minister, the existing PPP framework and the institutions associated with PPP should be more transparent and should also be strengthened to ensure the success of the PPP sector. The government is committed to take timely measures to attract investment in the country through PPP. Therefore, three new expenditure heads will be created under the new budget to facilitate new projects under PPP.
Now we'll discuss the definition and the necessity of PPP in our country with some example and a case study.