Steven Kmieciak and Richard McKim Preston Published in PLC's Cross-Border Construction and Projects Handbook 2010/11

Steven Kmieciak and Richard Preston were recently published in Practical Law Company's Cross-Border Construction and Projects Handbook (2010-2011). Public private partnerships (PPPs) are emerging as an alternative source of infrastructure funding. Although they can take many forms, PPPs are used to construct and operate facilities that would usually be built and operated by a government agency. These projects include toll roads, bridges and tunnels, power projects, water and sewage treatment projects, hospitals and schools.

Offshore firms previously participating in projects elsewhere in the world must adapt to the way PPPs are addressed in the United States. The requirements for PPP vary among the U.S. states. Participating in a PPP in California will not necessarily prepare a party to participate in a PPP in Texas.

This article focuses on toll roads, as they are the most valuable PPP projects in the United States, and discusses the:

• Structure of PPPs, including a definition of PPP, the parties to the PPP team and the types of concessions.
• Current legal framework for the use of PPPs.
• Public policy considerations, describing the different approaches taken in the U.S.
• Allocation of risk and compares it to more traditionally financed public projects.