5. Conclusion

There are different criteria for judging whether PPPs are successful which range from financial to socio-economic considerations. CCT and, to a smaller extent, LCT faced financial problems one year after they were opened. Arguably, classifying PPPs as successful from a financial perspective confines us to a narrow understanding of infrastructure development. Even when projects are found to be financially unviable, there still remain public concerns over a lack of proper comparison on the cost-effectiveness of private sector involvement versus the traditional public sector funding approach. Greater public acceptance of PPP projects therefore provides an alternative measure of success. This is because of the potential economic benefits the projects can confer on the public. PPPs are aimed at increasing the delivery of services in an era of public financial rectitude by using the resources of the private sector (Levinson et al., 2006). The intention is to improve efficiency by providing more services for less government outlays. Because these projects affect the wider community, they are often controversial, subject to public debate and external scrutiny. There are concerns raised about the balance of risks and overall benefits. The private sector will price any risk that is being transferred to it and seek public concessions to improve profits. When the desired concessions are not forthcoming, the project may result in higher developmental costs, which will be passed on to the users.

Working on collaborative advantages in PPPs can steer the partners towards higher degrees of collaboration which in turn can enhance economic benefits to the community. Successful PPP projects are meant to deliver improved service quality to the community. Using the approach set out in this paper, it was observed that LCT had a higher degree of collaboration than that of CCT. LCT also delivered higher economic benefits to the community. Therefore the study shows that there is a positive correlation between higher levels of collaboration and higher levels of economic benefits to the community when PPPs are used in the development of infrastructure projects. This paper has identified a number of underlying themes in PPPs when providing public goods and services. The role of collaboration in PPPs is critical in enhancing success. Understanding the need to capture and build collaborative advantages in PPPs suggests that the public sector needs to retain greater interest in planning and management of PPP projects. This can lead to greater probability of success in delivering economic benefits to the community.

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