The New Nation - Internet Edition

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), Bangladesh Investment Climate Fund (BICF) is organising a seminar on Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) for economic zones. The half-day seminar to be held on July 1 at Hotel Sheraton will focus on the concepts and mechanics of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) with case study examples with special emphasis on economic zones.

There is growing demand for large investment in infrastructure all over Asia and PPPs are a very useful means of accumulating capital. In a capital constrained emerging market economy such as Bangladesh, PPPs are of particular importance as they can help Bangladesh to achieve sustainable economic growth.

In this seminar, IFC-BICF will introduce and define the concept of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in large infrastructure projects such as economic zones and is divided into three sessions with each focusing on different aspects of PPP.

The first session will cover basic concepts of a PPP, and panelists will give a background of PPP and the risks and benefits associated with it. The second session is designed to give an overview of government and private sectors' perceptions, goals, and expectations from PPP arrangements. Panelists of the third session, Legal and Financial Arrangements for PPPs, will focus on the more complex mechanics of a PPP and how it has worked in other projects. In all the sessions, different case studies from around the world will be shared to demonstrate the various concepts of PPPs.

Public-private partnership (PPP) describes a government service or private business venture which is funded and operated through a partnership between government and one or more private sector companies. Economic Zones are often developed with some kind of PPP arrangement in place. IFC BICF will bring together government and private sector representatives to discuss and highlight the potential benefits of PPPs as they relate to economic zones. IFC BICF will provide long-term institutional support to the Government of Bangladesh and will work closely with its agencies (e.g., BEPZA, BoI) to assist them in successfully designing, structuring, and negotiating PPPs.

The seminar will be conducted by Nazrul Islam, CEO of Infrastructure Investment Facilitation Center (IIFC) and Martin Norman, Program Manager Economic Zones, IFC Bangladesh Investment Climate Fund. Ifty Islam, Managing Partner of Asian Tiger Capital Partners will deliver the keynote address.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, fosters sustainable economic growth in developing countries by financing private sector investment, mobilizing private capital in local and intemational financial markets, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and govemments. IFC's vision is that poor people have the opportunity to escape poverty and improve their lives. In FY07, IFC committed $8.2 billion and mobilized an additional $3.9 billion through syndications and structured finance for 299 investments in 69 developing countries. IFC also provided advisory services in 97 countries.