Implementation of transport infrastructure PPPs in the Czech Republic, Finland, Poland and Slovakia - a comparative analysis on national contexts

Sustainable public–private partnerships: Balancing the multi-actor ecosystem and societal requirements

“…Some evidence points out that PPPs have been quite unsuccessful in countries with lesser institutional maturity and stability (Witz et al, 2015). In countries where PPPs already have a long tradition, the view to PPPs is sometimes critical.…”

The prerequisites and peculiarities of the development and modernization of transport system, logistics and infrastructure in the countries of visegrad group: from the period of postcommunism to the present time

“…The main reason was absence of a realistic strategy for the development of rail transport, which could respond to a decrease in demand for rail services, attended by growing costs of the rail network maintenance. Consequently, likewise in the «real socialism» period, the revenues from railway services failed to even cover the costs of railway transport operation, even though by the mid-90s railways in the Visegrad countries had partly undergone privatization or communalization 21 , especially in Poland and Hungary, to a lesser extent in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Instead, the development of road transport in the countries of the region followed completely different patterns.…”

“…This was particularly evident in the case of Poland and Hungary, where public-private projects had become standard practice, and to a much lesser extent in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, where there were either few or no public-private transport projects whatsoever 35 . In general, it was found, that compared to the 1990s, the public-private partnerships development in the Visegrad Group countries was initiated, conditioned and accelerated in response to social-economic depression and turbulence of the post-communist period, particularly following insufficient investment in government infrastructure and logistics, including transport 36 . Prior to the Visegrad countries EU integration, unstable political and social-economic environment restricted implementation of public-private partnership projects, since neither state nor private transport associations were fully prepared for such tasks and methods.…”

“…On the other hand, the situation is less complicated by the fact that, in the wake of populism at its highest in the countries of the region, even after a specific public-private partnership project receives final approval, there inevitably occurs a situation when any change in government or public service will neither affect implementation or even undermine the future of such a project. This determines a sufficient level of confidence of private investors, being able to count on fairly reliable conditions of their business starting with the tender until the termination of the contract 37 . Yet, there have occurred numerous cases when public-private partnership transport projects in the region were not implemented upon an in-depth analysis of their potential and expediency 38 , and in view of potential political risks 39 (especially in the Czech Republic).…”

“…This is accompanied by the fact that the norms, regulating public and private procurement, and hence public-private partnership, appear to be quite volatile in the Visegrad countries. Accordingly, it sometimes leads to erroneous perception that public-private partnership is a procurement method, calling for specific legal mechanisms 40 .…”