Establishing key elements for sustainable PFI projects: A critical literature review

Sustainability considerations have been suggested as key elements in Private Financing Initiative (PFI) projects in Malaysia. Notwithstanding, the sustainability is new in the Malaysian construction industry, let alone in PFI projects. This requirement has necessitated stakeholders in PFI projects to quickly learn sustainability and apply them accordingly. A research was mooted to observe and document how the PFI project stakeholders respond to this and their consequent practice in implementation of sustainability in their projects. In drawing the Terms of Reference (TOR) of sustainability for PFI projects, it was conceived that the fundamental starting point is to accurately define what sustainability is and how this can be incorporated into the PFI projects in avoiding project outcome off-tangent. This paper presents the key elements for Sustainability which drawn from the perspective of literatures and research on sustainability applied in Europe, America and Asia. The findings culminate the key elements of Sustainability which helps to establish the research framework in order to measure the current implementation of sustainability within PFI. The research establishes six (6) key elements encompass Energy Efficiency (EE), Water Efficiency (WE), Site Planning & Management (SM), Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ), Materials & Resources (MR) and Innovation (IN) which will be adopted within the conceptual framework of sustainability is proposed from the study. In concluding, this paper signifies gaps in defining stakeholder's roles and responsibilities which are important for Malaysia PFIs in moving forward towards sustainable development.