A release from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has said that Chile, Brazil, Peru, Mexico and Colombia are the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean with the best environment to be able to carry out sustainable public-private partnerships (PPPs) to develop infrastructure and increase access to basic services.
This was the finding of the Economist Intelligence Unit’s third edition of the ‘Infrascope’, (an informational tool and benchmarking index which analyses national environments for PPPs in the Latin American and Caribbean region). The report was commissioned by the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the Inter-American Development Bank Group.
It noted that the environment for PPPs is improving as rising demand for infrastructure prompts countries to redouble efforts to attract greater private investment. The report shows that a cluster of countries have improved their capacity and readiness for PPP investments. The top reformer group is led by Colom-bia, Uruguay, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, which have accelerated regulatory change and capacity building. Strong institutional and legal frameworks and a positive investment climate prove to be fundamental to managing PPP investments.
Nancy Lee, General Manager of the MIF is quoted as saying, “The evidence demonstrates that PPPs work well for inclusive growth when they are designed according to best practices and backed up by strong laws and regulations.” She said. “We at the MIF are focused on working in frontier markets for PPPs – poorer countries, sub-national governments, and sectors with less PPP experience such as the social and green technology sectors.”
The release said that for the first time, this year’s edition of ‘Infrascope’ also highlights the opportunities for “green” PPPs as a growing and innovative area for the region. The PPP framework represents a unique opportunity for governments to attract private sector investment in domestic green industries, and to encourage the development of new approaches to mitigating environmental impact.
Carrie McKellogg, chief of the MIF’s Access to Basic Services and Green Growth unit said, “Increasingly, the region is seeing the PPP model applied in an array of green projects such as renewable energy, as well as emerging social sectors such as health and education. The MIF has recently launched a new advisory service that will help build country capacity to deploy PPPs in these sectors.”
The release said the ‘Infrascope’ is an interactive learning tool and benchmarking index that assesses countries’ readiness and capacity for sustainable, long-term PPP projects, scoring aspects of the regulatory and institutional frameworks; project experience and success; the investment climate and the financial facilities in 19 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. It can be downloaded for free at http://infrascope.fomin.org and allows users to self-score indicators and change weights to reflect dynamic country circumstances. Companies engaged in PPPs may also use the tool to compare frameworks and evaluate risks across countries.
