Reasons for implementing public private partnership projects : Perspectives from Hong Kong, Australian and British practitioners

Purpose – This paper sets out to present the findings of a study to investigate the reasons for implementing Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey was conducted in Hong Kong (also commonly referred to as the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region), Australia and the United Kingdom. The survey respondents were asked to rate the importance of nine identified reasons for implementing PPP projects. Findings – The findings of the top three ranks for each respondent group were investigated. Ranked top by the survey respondents in Hong Kong was “Private incentive”. Ranked second by all three groups of survey respondents was “Economic development pressure demanding more facilities”. Third in Hong Kong and first in Australia was “High quality of service required”. The reason “Inefficiency because of public monopoly and lack of competition” was ranked third by the Australian respondents. And finally ranked first and third by the British respondents was “Shortage of government funding” and “Avoid public investment restriction”. The rankings showed that in general those rated highly in the United Kingdom focused on financial elements whereas those rated highly in Hong Kong and Australia were more related to the overall performance of improving public projects. Originality/value – These findings were believed to provide an idea of the possible reasons for implementing PPP projects, and as a result illustrate a clearer understanding of the process.