30 April 2009

Mauritius: Developing Projects Through Private And Public Finance

A series of workshops to promote development projects built by private and public sector finance and expertise have been held in Mauritius.

The latest three-day workshop on Public Private Partnerships (PPP), organised by the Mauritius PPP committee and the Commonwealth Secretariat between 7 and 9 April, looked at how the private sector could work with the government on development projects. It was attended by over 50 senior officials from various ministries, academic and state-owned enterprises.

The Minister of Public Infrastructure, Land Transport and Shipping in Mauritius, the Hon A. K. Bachoo, said: "Massive investment is required to meet the growing demand for infrastructure the world over.

What are Public Private Partnerships?

· PPP projects are when the private sector works with public bodies to provide investment or services for developments.

· PPP's have been used in Britain, Canada, India, Malaysia, Australia, and in the South African Development Community region on projects including power generation, water and sanitation, prisons, hospitals, stadiums and housing.

· The total revenues worldwide from PPP's in 2007 amounted to US $ 1.4 billion - ref Public Works Financing, March 2008.

"The partnership between government and the private sector has, in many countries, helped in mobilising the necessary resources to accelerate the implementation of infrastructure projects, and also in improving the quality of services offered to the public."

Two other workshops have also been held and were attended by the Deputy Prime Ministers, Ministers, permanent secretaries, mayors, local councillors, senior local government officials, and representatives from the Mauritian private sector.

They were delivered by the Secretariat's PPP Adviser, Mr Hee Kong Yong and Associate Professor Dr Michael Regan of Bond University, Australia.

Lead Analyst of the Mauritius PPP Unit, Visvanaden Soondram said: "The workshops were useful in creating awareness of the PPP initiative. The participants will be able to apply what they have learned on the course to practical situations.

"We will make sure that whatever the techniques, concepts or the best practice, whatever has been disseminated through the workshop when developing PPP projects progresses the initiatives."

Deputy Director of Procurement and Supply at the Procurement Policy Office, Arnd Mudhoo, said: "The workshops were important because many public officers may have heard of PPP and they know how it can be used but they have not been exposed to real cases. Now we know what are the risks, the opportunities and how we have to deal with situations."

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