Seoul Declaration signed to promote PPP for infrastructure development
By Khalid Amin

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan signed the Seoul Declaration on Public Private Partnership (PPP) for Infrastructure Development in Asia and Pacific to re-affirm its commitment to continue support and promote PPPs as an effective means to complement the government efforts in the development and provision of infrastructure facilities and services to the citizens.
The Declaration was signed by Dr. Salman Shah, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance, Revenue, Economic Affairs and Statistics, who was heading the Pakistani delegation attending the Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Public Private Partnerships for Infrastructure Development.
The conference, held on October 5, was hosted by the Government of Korea and supported by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).
Earlier, a high-level expert group meeting convened by the ESCAP secretariat and hosted by the Government of the Republic of Korea, provided an opportunity for agencies involved in PPPs development to discuss issues in infrastructure development.
The Seoul Declaration is yet another step in a series of initiatives, such as the United Nations Millennium Declaration; General Assembly Resolution on World Summit, the Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development and the Monterrey Consensus of the International Conference on financing for Development etc.
which provides global recognition of the need for the support and promotion of the concept of PPPs in the development process.
The conference underscored the need to enhance and create an environment that is conducive to private sector participation in the provision of infrastructure facilities and services including a) Formulation of PPP policy framework, b) Reform of legislative and regulatory regimes and c) Establishment of administrative mechanisms to promote good governance in PPPs and d) Enhancement of the capacity of the public sector to implement PPPs.
Commenting on the occasion, Dr. Salman Shah stated that the signing of the Declaration re-affirmed Pakistan and signatory countries’ resolve to give infrastructure development high priority in our national development agendas and the agreement to support and promote PPPs as an effective means to complement the efforts of governments in the development and provision of infrastructure facilities and services.
He said the focal point for implementation of the Government’s PPP program is the Infrastructure Project Development Facility (IPDF), which has been established to promote and facilitate the closing of transactions involving private investment and management of public infrastructure, especially in the unregulated sectors at the provincial and municipal levels.
The IPDF is a catalyst to increase the number and volume of public infrastructure transactions that provide value for money for the beneficiaries of the facility, while assuring that private sector providers are able to earn adequate returns for quality services.
Dr. Salman Shah said through the transactions and facilitation of policy-making, IPDF also supports the creation of an enabling policy environment and provides hands on knowledge transfer especially to the local Government level.
He said the IPDF is also continuing to educate the public sector implementation agencies and private sector stakeholders through seminars, workshops, interviews, and publications on the benefits of PPP in infrastructure development.
The Seoul Declaration provides the regional countries a forum for cooperation initiatives for PPPs including: Participation in regional networking arrangements; Development and delivery of ducational and training programmes; Development and sharing of databases on PP projects, statistics, laws, guidelines, model agreements etc, Standardization of terminology, contracts, processes and procedures; and Provision of technical assistance, Dr. Salman Shah stated that given the varying degrees of development standards and regimes in the Asia Pacific region, the Declaration provides a forum to the countries of the region to ensure a more cohesive and integrated communication and development approach, based on international best practice, to the development and promotion of PPPs.
He hoped that this will further facilitate provision of more, better and timely services at affordable costs, accelerating the social and economic benefits to the citizens.