Colonial Project Finance Initiative: to what extent did the UK export its public-private partnership model to Caribbean British Overseas Territories?

• Published in: Round table (London) Vol. 113; no. 5; pp. 418 - 433
• Main Author: Panadès-Estruch, Laura
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Routledge 02-09-2024; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Accountability; Administrative law; Colonies & territories; Comparative analysis; Finance; Financial sustainability; infrastructure; Overseas territories; Partnerships; private finance initiative; procurement; Public finance; Public private partnerships; Safeguards
• ISSN: 0035-8533; 1474-029X
• DOI: 10.1080/00358533.2024.2410546

Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) are long-term agreements for procuring public projects that bundle up design, build, finance, operation and management. The UK's version, Project Finance Initiative, was a policy-based framework, now defunct. Instead, PPPs in Caribbean British Overseas Territories (BOTs) are based on rigid models, with early stopovers focused on ensuring financial sustainability. A comparative analysis among Caribbean BOTs concludes that they show common models, and that those BOTs that need PPPs the most have set up the biggest hurdles to get them started. The analysis comprises four features: legal sources, administrative safeguards, scope restrictions for sector and value, and accountability.