Financing and risk allocation : a public and private perspective

This collection of papers aims to prepare a discussion that explores a number of issues relating to the pressures facing private infrastructure projects throughout the world. Questions posed include: How have water projects been affected? What lessons does the recent experience lead us to? Are there lessons being learned? In the medium-term, what are the risk factors that water projects face? How do these risk factors influence the main financing options available to private water projects? Policy questions that arise include: What are some useful approaches to the award of concessions? For open competitive bids, is there a useful alternative to the single-envelope, lowest-price-is-the-winner approach? What strategies help reduce the likelihood of difficult negotiations? What pricing strategies and regulatory practices can best protect the consumer? One of the speakers also provided a handout on the Manila experience.