Panama Authorities Trained in PPP Implementation

With the aim of promoting project management under public-private partnerships, CAF—development bank of Latin America—and the British Embassy organized the seminar “Capacity-Building to Implement Public-Private Partnerships in Latin America” with government entities in Panama’s finance, energy, infrastructure and housing sectors, as well as CAF staff. Participants were trained in the institutional structure of UK public-private partnerships (PPPs), the project preparation process, funding instruments, legal framework, among other topics, with practical examples.

Lucía Meza, project manager for the Northern Region at CAF, emphasized CAF’s commitment to the region’s development and its support to national governments in developing legal, regulatory and institutional frameworks, to implement investments in infrastructure and public services through public-private partnerships.

Ian Collard, British Ambassador to Panama, said that in order to achieve the level of private investment in public infrastructure, the public and private sectors in the UK worked as partners in the development of a PPP model that has inspired similar models in more than 50 countries on five continents.

One of the main conclusions of the meeting is that the success of the British model is the result of a long process that began with the political will of the State, including an intensive capacity-building program for civil servants in different sectors and levels of government, and involved the active participation of society in all stages of the PPP process, implementing communication strategies and transparency mechanisms.

In addition, participants noted that the lessons learned in recent decades provided the model with detailed manuals, guides and protocols for various activities involved in PPP processes. While the realities across countries are different, these standards may be applicable to Panama through the right adaptation process by the agencies involved, respecting the particular features of each project and society.

The high-level speakers included Javier Encinas, Project Director at Infrastructure UK, HM Treasury; Tim Jones, Director of Deloitte UK Government and Infrastructure Division; Jeffery Barrat, consultant to Norton Rose Fulbright; Manjit Kahlon, international consultant on environment and technology, and Dennis De Cala, market analyst and project manager at Mott MacDonald Group.