Do public–private partnerships achieve better time and cost performance than regular contracts?

Abstract

Infrastructure development with public-private partnership (PPP) contracts has been claimed to lead to better performance compared to regular contracts. However, the empirical evidence for this claim is weak. The authors assessed the difference in the actual performance of Dutch infrastructure PPP projects (design-build-finance-maintain: DBFM) compared to regularly procured projects (design-and-construct: D&C). DBFM projects demonstrated significantly better cost performance. IMPACT Public-private partnerships (PPPs) have been widely used for the development and management of transport infrastructure, such as highways, railways, and waterways. However, hard evidence that PPPs perform better than regularly procured projects is lacking. Existing evidence tends to rely on anecdotal and perceptual data. This paper provides policymakers and managers with real information about the actual performance and benefits of PPPs.

Effective policy instrument mixes for implementing integrated flood risk management: An analysis of the ‘Room for the River’ program

“…Lenferink et al, 2013), but not necessarily so. This finding ties in with research into the advantage of integrated contracts over more traditional contracts, where the performance of different contract types in infrastructure development is comparatively analyzed, with findings indicating that more integrated contracts may indeed perform better (e.g., Verweij & Van Meerkerk, 2020). The question remains, however, as with the present study, in which ways exactly the more inclusive contracts stimulate higher spatial quality.…”

Government equity investment, effective communication and public private partnership (PPP) performance: evidence from China

“…Project performance is often conceptualized from the different perspectives of subjective satisfaction due to varied perceptions of project success arising from different values and interests in projects. PPP performance is usually viewed as the comparison of actual results with intended goals (Wang and Zhao, 2018;Verweij and Meerkerk, 2020). Evaluating PPP performance is far more complicated than performance measurement in traditional infrastructure and public service delivery approach (Liu et al, 2014;Yuan et al, 2020;Doloi, 2012).…”

The Regulatory and Institutional Framework of Public-Private Partnership: Cases of France, Germany, and Russia

“…Most authors consider PPP to be a more effective tool (compared to traditional procurement) (Engel et al, 2010). It implies less financial and time costs needed to implement an infrastructure project (Verweij & Meerkerk, 2020). Some researchers highlight factors leading PPPs to success (Chan et al, 2010;Hwang et al, 2013;Zhang, 2005).…”