Turkey hosts global public-private partnership forum

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) - The 8th edition of the Turkey Public-Private Partnership forum got underway Thursday in the capital Ankara, bringing together businesses, corporations, government officials and experts from all around the world.

The two-day entrepreneurial-economic event aims to provide investors and infrastructure practitioners with a comprehensive update on public-private partnership (PPP) projects.

It is focusing on lessons learnt and best practices in legal and financial frameworks as well as how various approaches and innovations in project delivery can solve challenges that PPP stakeholders have recently faced.

Top leaders from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), International Finance Corporation (IFC) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) are among the attendees.

What are PPPs?

Public-private partnerships involve collaboration between a government agency and a private-sector company that can be used to finance, build and operate projects such as public transportation networks, parks and convention centers.

Financing a project through a public-private partnership can allow a project to be completed sooner or make it a possibility in the first place.

Since the 1980s, Turkey has been conducting various projects through PPPs in building highways, airports, railways, hospitals and energy facilities.

Under the implementation of the PPP model, mega-scale projects such as the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, the Eurasia Tunnel, the Istanbul New Airport (also known as the Third Airport), the Osman Gazi Bridge, city hospitals in Yozgat and Mersin and the Istanbul-Ankara high-speed railway were successfully completed.

Turkey also has more projects in the pipeline In the healthcare sector.

With nine hospitals already built and 12 under construction, the government has launched a tender process to build 10 more city hospitals with a total capacity of 12,300 beds.

Despite the large number of projects slated for implementation under the PPP system, Turkey’s investment needs in infrastructure development are still significant.