Bolivia is one of a growing number of developing countries turning to the private sector to improve urban water and sanitation services. The country's first major contract in the sector, a twenty-five-year concession for the neighboring cities of La Paz and El Alto, was implemented in August...

The more risk and responsibility a government hands over to the private sector in water and sanitation, the more powerful the incentives for better performance-but also the more demands on the government in commitment and preparation. So a government about to enter into a long partnership for a...

Water has historically been hugely underpriced in most developing countries. Water systems are often poorly run. Regulatory frameworks are often lacking, incomplete, or internally inconsistent, and the relevant skills thinly spread. There is little trust that the government will maintain a...

In 1989, the Government of Guinea entered into a lease arrangement for private sector operation of water services in the capital city, Conakry, and sixteen other towns. The lease has been broadly successful --in the first five years, it led to a big increase in the population with access to safe...