John Hennessy III,
P.E.
As the U.S. grapples with a growing list of transportation infrastructure needs and limited public funds, more states are looking to public-private partnerships as a means of fixing and replacing aging bridges, tunnels and roads. But is there a downside for taxpayers? NewsHour Weekend’s Christopher Booker reports.
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AMERICAN COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING COMPANIES (ACEC)
The U.S. has no shortage of high-profile P3 projects, particularly in Texas, Florida and California. One of the first major uses of the P3 model in the U.S. dates back to 1999, when the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey faced a limited debt capacity to finance necessary improvements to New York’s JFK International Airport. It ultimately turned to a consortium of private developers, operators and financiers to renovate the international terminal. In addition, a private company has a 28-year lease with the Port Authority to operate the terminal.
Andrew Curtis Right is Counselor to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation and Executive Director of the Build America Transportation Investment Center. The Build America Transportation Investment Center serves as the single point of contact and coordination for states, municipalities and project sponsors looking to utilize federal transportation expertise, apply for federal transportation credit programs and explore ways to access private capital in public private partnerships.
“If you’re going to build a road today you’ve got to bid out the contract, and someone has to pay for it. And in the past the money has typically come from the Highway Trust Fund, or from the federal government, or from state and local taxes, et cetera. Going forward, the issue is a P3 really involves a different layer of procuring and risk sharing, and effectively of financing, where the state or the municipality or the sponsor doesn’t have to pay up front as part of a contract…”
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Texas A&M University recently announced plans to expand its student housing capacity by more than 3,400 beds with a unique agreement between public and private partners worth over $360 million. The announcement is similar to dozens just like it throughout the country. Student housing on university campuses is an extremely large, growing marketplace and most of the new projects are collaborative efforts called public-private partnerships (P3s).
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HOUSE TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE
Around the world, P3s play a significant role in the development and delivery of transportation and infrastructure projects. Internationally, P3s have had a mixed record of success and failure. The Panel found that successful P3s have several common elements, including leveraging the strengths of the public and private sectors, appropriate risk transfer, transparent and flexible contracts, and alignment of policy goals…Unlike most other countries, the United States possesses a robust municipal bond market of approximately $3.7 trillion, of which a significant portion is for infrastructure financing. The Panel found that this is one major reason why the U.S. P3 market has not grown as quickly as in other countries (which do not offer tax-exempt municipal bonds) and why the potential for P3s in the United States is limited.
GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY
How has the 2008 Economic Crisis impacted the design, financing, and construction of highway public–private partnership (PPP or P3) projects in the United States? In December 2007, on the eve of the economic crisis, the Virginia legislature approved a P3 to construct a 14-mile (22.5 km) high occupancy toll (HOT) road (the 495 Express Lanes) to alleviate heavy traffic on the Capital Beltway around Washington, DC. This case study looks at the impact the 2008 Economic Crisis and associated economic challenges between 2008 and 2012 had on this project and considers what governments and other stakeholders should be aware of when implementing P3s during adverse economic times.
“It’s fundamental: having people come together and raise their voice and speak up is the only way to get something done in Washington. I would urge any advocates of infrastructure to speak up and to send letters to their congressmen, and to join coalitions and never underestimate the impact you can have to get something done.”
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THE ASSOCIATION OF EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS (AEM) Download full report (PDF): Jobs, Infrastructure, and the Economy: What the Voters are Saying About the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM)www.aem.org“AEM is a trade association that provides services on a global basis for companies that manufacture equipment, products and services used worldwide in the following industries: Agriculture, Construction, Forestry, […]
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Larry Ehl, founder and publisher of Transportation Issues Daily (TID). After more than two decades as a government affairs and transportation professional – including about eight years as Federal Relations Manager for the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) – in 2009 he started what became a nationally recognized blog on federal transportation issues. His […]
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Christian F. Steinbrecher, president of Ukiah Engineering Inc., was awarded the “2011 – 2012 Engineer of the Year Award” by the Oregon Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers for his work on Oregon’s Infrastructure Report Card issued by the Oregon Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers. His experience has spanned almost […]
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