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Sustainable Public-Private Partnerships for Future-Proof Efficient Assets

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2022) | Viewed by 7444

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture (DECivil), University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
2. Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: public–private partnerships; construction management; project appraisal; green infrastructure
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Guest Editor
ISEG – Lisbon School of Economics and Management, Universidade de Lisboa, P-1200078 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: corporate finance; public–private partnerships; project finance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Public-Private Partnerships(PPPs) have been adopted worldwide as a procurement model able to leverage private capital and private expertise, to deliver and manage public infrastructure and public services. The focus on PPPs has been primarily financial, given the numerous financial and fiscal benefits provided by the model (although these potential benefits have turned negatively in some countries). Therefore, the evaluation of such projects has been primarily done in terms of their financial impact, comparing the (potential) gains with the alternative public management model. The results have been mixed across different sectors and distinct countries.

Traditional PPP models now have over 20–30 years’ experience, and a growing number of researchers has been questioning the absence of social, environmental, and larger economic KPIs able to provide a comprehensive evaluation of PPPs. Even from a strictly financial point of view, the lack of a life cycle perspective over expenditure, has led, in many countries (e.g., Greece, Portugal, Italy) to unsustainable financial burdens. Simultaneously, the challenge of climate change will require increased resilience of existing and new infrastructure, requiring a new perspective on how do we evaluate investments.

The debate and literature on PPP have grown significantly in the last decade. This Special Issue intends to bring sustainability to the center of debate on PPPs, providing a set of papers that can pave the way towards a more holistic evaluation, development, and implementation of PPPs. The following areas are most welcome (not exclusive):

  • Sustainability assessment in PPPs;
  • Monitoring sustainability in PPP projects;
  • Financial sustainability of PPPs;
  • PPPs for environmental projects;
  • PPPs and resilient projects.

Dr. Carlos Oliveira Cruz
Dr. Joaquim Miranda Sarmento
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • public–private partnerships
  • concessions
  • sustainability, project finance
  • environment
  • public-to-private cooperation

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 306 KiB  
Article
Empirical Analysis of the Effects of Ownership Model (Public vs. Private) on the Efficiency of Urban Rail Firms
by Álvaro Costa, Carlos Oliveira Cruz, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento and Vitor Faria Sousa
Sustainability 2021, 13(23), 13346; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132313346 - 2 Dec 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2202
Abstract
The discussion over public vs. private management in the operation of public transport has been on the research agenda for the past decade. Several studies have analyzed the benefits of private management; however, no study has analyzed the effects of the management model [...] Read more.
The discussion over public vs. private management in the operation of public transport has been on the research agenda for the past decade. Several studies have analyzed the benefits of private management; however, no study has analyzed the effects of the management model while controlling for other external factors such as economic crises and political factors. This study intends to focus on the impact of the ownership model (public vs. private) of urban rail firms on their efficiency, while expanding the existing literature by controlling for economic and political factors. The methodology consisted of the calculation of DEA scores and subsequent use of regression analysis to identify the main determinants. We used a data set of four Portuguese rail firms during the period 2009–2018 along with five distinct efficiency scores. The results show that privately managed firms tend to be more efficient, but with distinct behavior depending on the economic cycle. In periods of growing GDP, private firms lose their potential superiority over public firms. The results also show that election years and unemployment rate also play a role in understanding the efficiency scores of these firms. Full article
27 pages, 5198 KiB  
Article
Towards an Understanding of Project Finance in the Mining Sector in the Sustainability Context: A Scientometric Analysis
by Juan David González-Ruiz, Juan Camilo Mejia-Escobar and Giovanni Franco-Sepúlveda
Sustainability 2021, 13(18), 10317; https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810317 - 15 Sep 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4104
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to analyze the extant literature on Project Finance (PF) with a comprehensive understanding of the status quo and research trends in the mining industry. Thus, this study utilizes a scientometric review of global trends and structure of [...] Read more.
The purpose of this study is to analyze the extant literature on Project Finance (PF) with a comprehensive understanding of the status quo and research trends in the mining industry. Thus, this study utilizes a scientometric review of global trends and structure of PF and mining research from 1977 to 2020 using techniques such as co-author, co-word, co-citation, and cluster analyses. A total of 80 bibliographic records from the Scopus database were analyzed to generate the study’s research through scientometric networks. The findings indicate a steady growth of the research field, which includes Environmental, Social, and Governance criteria. The most significant contributions have originated mainly from the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and South Africa. The main research trends identified several issues related to risk, management, and financing concerns. This study provides researchers and practitioners with a comprehensive understanding of the status quo and research trends of ontology research within PF in the mining context and promotes further studies in this domain. Full article
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