ICCB emphasises all out govt effort to execute PPP

FE Team | Published: July 21, 2009 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

FE Report
The government must take all appropriate measures to see that Public Private Partnership (PPP) as a model works for the country's future growth as well as for developing the infrastructure to achieve the goal of a 'Digital Bangladesh', said the ICCB, in its Quarterly News Bulletin editorial, released Sunday.
"In fact, PPP is a growing concept for an alternative source of financing for public sector projects on a cost sharing and cost effective manner. To expand and meet the country's ever-increasing demand for various physical infrastructures, the government has identified six giant projects for implementation on a 'very urgent' basis for FY'10. For these indigenous capacity remains to be ascertained and foreign investment continues to be uncertain," the ICCB (International Chamber of Commerce - Bangladesh) said.
According to the ICCB, to make the initiative a successful one, the government firstly has to formulate appropriate policy framework, incentive packages and mechanism for implementation, and build trust and confidence of the investors, irrespective of policy regime.
The national budget for 2009-10 has been announced at a time when the world is passing through serious recession due to economic meltdown. Though Bangladesh economy is yet to be hurt seriously, the threat is looming large, especially in export and remittances.
In this context, the government needs to mobilise huge fund to boost domestic demand that again requires investment. As the public sector lacks enough resources, tagging the private sector in the development process is a critical one, so the PPP came to the fore.
In the budget, the government has proposed an allocation of US$350 million for initiating the partnership projects, but it is very meager, the ICCB editorial opined.
With regard to institutional framework, it would be appropriate to look into the past experience, wherein the government initiated the Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL) in 1998 to promote public-private investment.
Since its inception, IDCOL has been able to attract only a few private sector investments in some small infrastructure projects including solar energy. So, it is required to revisit the operation of IDCOL or for that matter any new outfit to encourage and attract private investment in big projects, the ICCB also said.
For private sector participation, five types of constraints must be overcome: political and bureaucratic, legal and regulatory, financial, methodological and process of implementation.