Strategies for development of competencies for implementation of urban public private partnership projects in India

Recent governmental programs in India envisage the delivery of urban services in partnership with the private sector through public private partnerships (PPP). As per the Indian constitution, urban local bodies (ULBs) are primarily responsible for the provision of infrastructural services in urban areas. While these urban local bodies are competent in procuring projects through the traditional design-bid-build model, PPPs are a relatively new concept. The lack of competencies in urban local bodies to select, structure and bid out projects via public private partnership has emerged as a critical bottleneck to the adoption of the PPP model in the delivery of urban services. State governments are attempting to address this competency gap by adopting a variety of strategies for the development of competencies in urban local bodies for the implementation of PPP projects. As the need for urban infrastructure and services heightens across Indian cities, it is imperative that current practices in the development of competencies be studied to ensure effective implementation of urban PPP projects. This research paper reports the findings of a research study conducted to identify appropriate strategies for the development of competencies for the implementation of urban PPP projects. Semi structured interviews were conducted with urban experts and empirical evidence was gathered through case studies of urban PPP projects in order to evaluate the quality and outcomes of current capacity building measures in the urban Indian environment. The areas of improvement in the prevailing policy & institutional framework have been suggested. This study enriches the current body of knowledge on competency development and gives recommendations to policy makers for devising appropriate strategies for streamlining PPPs in the delivery of urban services by bridging the competency gap.