Urban infrastructures implemented in public–private partnerships

This chapter examines the practice and success conditions of PPPs implemented in urban areas in order to understand how PPPs can be adapted to urban infrastructures and what their potential is for future perspectives in urban infrastructure planning. After describing PPPs and presenting their costs and benefits in theory, the barriers and levers to the implementation of PPPs in urban infrastructures are identified by focusing on case studies in several sectors: public lighting, video-protection, smart platforms, heating networks, and transportation infrastructures. First, the project must ensure the contractors a reliable and sound return on investment. Second, the contractors must be incentivized through robust mechanisms to align their objectives with the public entity. While the public entity aims to generate positive outcomes through the delivery of urban infrastructures, it is necessary to identify, specify, and measure these outcomes in the contract. The pooling of several infrastructures in a single contract is also a lever to implement feasible PPPs, such as by balancing lucrative and non-lucrative business models. Barriers and levers linked to the environment and contextual factors were also identified. A sound institutional framework and high levels of corporate governance are required to implement PPPs. Good solvability and reliable financial flows are required locally in order to ensure reliable positive cash flows for the private entity. Finally, the public entity procurement and management critical path for infrastructures can be strong barriers to the implementation of PPPs, as can local administrative, governance, and political constraints.