China: Municipality-Level Public–Private Partnership Operational Framework for Chongqing
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is actively encouraging private investment in infrastructure, and a major part of this is building up a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program at both the national and provincial levels. In line with this, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is supporting the municipality of Chongqing to develop its own PPP program. The ADB has since hired Castalia to help develop an operational framework to guide Chongqing in this process. This framework includes guidance on how governments assess and prioritize potential PPP projects. Countries with successful PPP programs have developed mechanisms for assessing and prioritizing PPPs. Therefore, Castalia has developed a tool that could help the municipality of Chongqing to evaluate and prioritize proposals for new projects systematically and objectively. Our tool is informed by the international experience identifying and prioritizing PPP projects (particularly in Australia and the UK). It represents best practices globally. However, our local counterparts in Chongqing will also be contributing to the tool in order to ensure that it fits appropriately within the local context.