New Network to Boost Public-Private Infrastructure Partnerships Launched

Key objective is to build public sector capacity

MIDRAND, February 15, 2011 – A new generation of public-private partnerships (PPPs) can help close Africa’s large and growing ‘infrastructure gap’ estimated at US$31 billion a year.  This was the consensus emerging from a meeting “Facilitating Acceleration of Infrastructure Development,” where a new, virtual network of practitioners was launched to strengthen government capacity for conceptualizing and implementing these complex partnerships. 

“We are delighted to convene this Forum together with our partners,” said João Caholo, Deputy Executive Secretary for Regional Integration, SADC.  “Networking among practitioners is a key element of our public-private partnership development strategy for southern Africa because it is only through dialogue and interaction that new ideas can be forged for making sustainable improvement in Africa’s infrastructure.”

The new network comprises over 100 practitioners, financiers, technical specialists, and sector experts all of whom are united by the common objective of developing solutions to bridge southern Africa’s infrastructure gap.  The meeting convened by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and held at the Vulindlela Academy, Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), is the first of its type focusing on networking among infrastructure specialists and development practitioners.

Addressing participants at the launch, Admassu Tadesse, Head of DBSA’s International Division, said:  “Given the infrastructure backlogs and the limitations of the public sector, there can be no denying that PPPs remain a significant part of the solution to Africa’s infrastructure development problem. The pertinent question is not whether, but rather how to make PPPs happen in a manner that creates a win-win for both the public interest and private partners involved.”

The network will pool technical expertise and knowledge to facilitate successful PPPs, review associated regulatory and