B’desh lags in pushing PPP idea as India surfs ahead

---

FE Report
Bangladesh should kick-start executing projects through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) as it has put in place the needed framework to advance the agenda, a top Asian Development Bank (ADB) official said Tuesday.
Ryuichi Kaga, senior adviser at the Manila-based lender, said his bank is ready to strike partnership with the government by providing direct support to implement the PPP projects.
His pledge came at a luncheon meeting hosted by the France-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIFB) held at a city hotel.
A number of CCIFB member also participated during the open session of the discussion.
Mr Kaga in his speech on 'Funding solutions for PPP projects: ADB's next phase for supporting PPP in Bangladesh' said his organisation has long been providing support to develop the PPP framework in the country, now it is the time to fund the projects directly.
He said ADB has started this year providing transaction advisory services to sovereign clients and their counterparts for funding individual PPP projects by assigning a special taskforce.
"We're also ready to offer technical assistance for frameworks and transaction advisory services for specific projects in public, semi-public and private sectors."
He said controlling the risks of a project - political, commercial and related with natural disasters - is the key for its successful implementation.
"Foreign exchange risk, change in law, cancellation of approvals, expropriation, political violence, and contract breach by governmental entities, etc are among the political risks."
Commercial risks can be divided among the funding partners, but the risks derived from natural disasters cannot be shouldered by funding partners.
ADB wants best practice for a project finance security package in Bangladesh, he added.
Former Power Secretary Dr. M Fouzul Kabir Khan said competitiveness and transparency are the first and foremost conditions for successful implementation of PPP projects.
"Though there have not been many successful PPP projects in the country, the required infrastructure is in place to move ahead with the PPP projects."
He said transport and communication sector could be the first priority for PPP projects in Bangladesh, and then water, urban development, and waste management etc can be considered.
"The world has gone far in implementing projects under PPP. The UK has so far implemented 900 successful projects worth over $100 billion, while India has implemented some 758 projects worth about Rs 3,833.32 billion."
He said PPP is a process, complementary to public procurement, but not a substitute. Because, not all goods and services that are currently provided by the public sector can be procured through PPP.
Fouzul Kabir said there are a lot of options for PPP, and not all government and private cooperation are PPP.
"PPP Policy and Guidelines were gazetted in 2010, PPP Office is completely ready, and PPP Unit under the Ministry of Finance is in operation. So, many things have been done for successful PPP operation in Bangladesh," he added.
Afsar Uddin, Chief Executive Officer of PPP Office said his office is ready to provide all-out support to entrepreneurs under PPP initiative.
Deputy Country Director of ADB Bangladesh Resident Mission Stefan Ekelund, and French Ambassador to Dhaka Michel Trinquier also spoke at the programme.