The Public – Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF) helps developing-country governments strengthen policies, regulations, and institutions that enable sustainable infrastructure with private-sector participation. As part of these efforts, PPIAF promotes knowledge-transfer by capturing lessons while funding research and tools; builds capacity to scale infrastructure delivery; and assists sub-national entities in accessing financing without sovereign guarantees. Supported by donors and administered by the World Bank, our work helps generate hundreds of millions in infrastructure investment.

Focus area
PPIAF provides grants for technical assistance and knowledge services to support:

Improving competition, efficiency, and accountability in infrastructure

Improving competition, efficiency, and accountability in infrastructure is driven first and foremost by the need to provide universal access to infrastructure and increase consumer welfare. This will be achieved via greater affordability made possible by increased market competition and the continued adoption of novel technology and digitalization both within network infrastructure and off-grid. To accomplish the goals set forth under Pillar 1, PPIAF will promote competition through offering integrative policy and planning support to create markets and providing tools to encourage PPI, ultimately leading to both increased efficiency and affordability.

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Accelerating PPI program development and implementation

Accelerating PPI program development and implementation was developed based on key trends observed over the previous strategy period on the evolution of PPP programs, with particular regard to nascent versus mature markets. As such, under Pillar 2, PPIAF will continue to support governments to create the building blocks for successful PPP projects and programs, particularly tailoring initiatives to the level of market maturity. The aim is to accelerate the “conversion rate” of initiatives into capital mobilization and better infrastructure services by tailoring support to build frameworks, capacity, and institutions to deliver projects and mobilize private capital.

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Reducing risks in PPI programs and increasing creditworthiness of public counterparties

Reducing risks in PPI programs and increasing creditworthiness of public counterparties builds on the efforts of Pillar 2 while also addressing the key trends observed with respect to debt, worsened by the pandemic, as well as funding and financing. To address the risks arising from high debt burdens and low creditworthiness of public contracting parties, PPIAF acknowledges that it will need to be instrumental in developing PPP debt sustainability through guidance in good project selection, procurement, and oversight while also building capacity on available financing instruments and novel sources of funding. The reform of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and subnational governments will also be critical to best achieve financial equilibrium and PCM. Ultimately, PPIAF will aim to reduce project risk by optimizing and diversifying the use of government and International Finance Institution (IFI) funding sources to stimulate long-term, local currency financing via the mobilization of sustainable finance for infrastructure.

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Mainstreaming resiliency, equity, and climate co-benefits

Mainstreaming resiliency, equity, and climate co-benefits is bolstered by the imperative need to increase both climate resiliency and gender equity in privately delivered infrastructure, particularly within fragile countries. Key trends indicate that bankability will be increasingly defined by resilience and sustainability. Accordingly, PPIAF will continue its efforts to mainstream climate mitigation and adaptation principles within its portfolio to meet policy targets as it has done in previous years through the Climate Resiliency and Environmental Sustainability Technical Advisory (CREST). As such, collaboration with industry to explore standard setting for environmental sustainability, climate resiliency and associated financing will be imperative. Concurrently, PPIAF will aim to incentivize gender equity within PPP governance structure, project design, and capacity building.

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Focus Area
PPIAF helps generate hundreds of millions in infrastructure investment:

PPIAF enables EMDEs to build institutions and to strengthen capacity to better identify, assess, and enable private sector participation opportunities.

PPIAF enables EMDEs to establish and regulate markets for resilient, affordable, and inclusive infrastructure.

PPIAF enables EMDEs to broaden and diversify the sources funding & finance for infrastructure.

Why it matters?
Required
$4.3 trillion1
PER YEAR
To end extreme poverty worldwide and meet the SDGs
1World Investment Report 2022, UNCTAD
Current trend
$2.8 trillion2
PER YEAR
Is available for infrastructure investment
2Global Infrastructure Outlook, GI Hub
Gap

$1.5 trillion

Most governments don’t have the resources to fully finance their infrastructure needs, which makes private sector participation essential.

At the same time, more than $100 trillion is held by pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, mutual funds, insurance companies, and other institutional investors.3This is on top of other potential financing that can be borne into PPPs, namely by commercial banks, multilateral and bilateral development banks, and finance institutions.

3IMF
Why it Matters

How can we attract investments to advance private infrastructure development?

Strong institutions and effective regulatory frameworks remain crucial for ensuring that investments in infrastructure are made strategically and efficiently.

PPIAF helps accelerate the availability of resilient, affordable, and inclusive infrastructure services by improving the enabling environment for private participation in infrastructure.

Funding research and tools
PPIAF distills knowledge from over 1,700 technical assistance activities, other multilateral development banks, and the private sector, making best practices for delivering infrastructure through PPPs accessible to all—at a scale and reach that cannot be achieved by individual interventions alone. PPIAF knowledge products have been widely used across the globe, improving welfare through private sector participation in infrastructure that is well-informed by experience, tools, and research.
Capacity building
In many countries, public (traditional) procurement remains the primary method of developing infrastructure. Many governments often lack the institutional capacity to design, implement and oversee long-term, complex contractual arrangements such as a multi-year PPP. Institutional capacity is also necessary to ensure transparent procurement of infrastructure projects and to prevent corruption along the way. PPIAF helps strengthen the capacity of government contracting authorities to encourage private investment in infrastructure.
Strengthening policies and institutions
Well-designed institutional framework with clear and strong political support is key to successful public-private partnerships. PPIAF helps develop and strengthen consensus, policies, laws, regulations, and organizations to enable the effective administration and implementation of PPPs. PPIAF also focuses on establishing new or reconfiguring existing institutions so that they can become an effective counterpart to the private sector.
Supporting subnational entities
National governments are not the only government entities responsible for infrastructure delivery. PPIAF’s Sub-National Technical Assistance Program helps local governments, public utilities, and state-owned enterprises develop their capacity to access market-based financing without sovereign guarantees in order to improve infrastructure services. Technical assistance includes capacity building to improve the creditworthiness of subnational entities and their investment projects.