| Over the past 20 years, the increasing demand for the delivery of public services and infrastructures has created a need to for new and effective delivery strategies. In the early 1990s, public-private partnerships were proposed as one such solution to help government cope with the growing demand of public services. However, a number of issues were encountered worldwide in the implementation of PPPs. Saudi Arabia, similar to other countries, has faced problems implementing PPPs to manage associated complex PPP arrangements. Therefore, this thesis has focused on studying the initiated public-private partnership (PPP) guidelines/frameworks governing PPPs within Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure sectors to improve their implemented practices. The research was developed based on the qualitative data collected from two case studies. This multiple case study approach was used to understand and describe: the rationale and government objectives for choosing a PPP; the challenges facing the public and private sectors in planning and developing PPP projects; interrelationships of different variables associated with PPP projects; institutional capacity of public sectors for delivering PPPs; and the PPP market drivers. Data analysis has revealed four significant barriers: lack of political will and support, legal and regulatory, institutional capacity and expertise, and market maturity. In response to these weaknesses, the researcher has suggested a framework for improving market maturity to enable a more successful implementation. The main function of the suggested framework is to guide public sectors and policy makers who are interested in a more effective implementation of PPPs. The development of this framework was based on the insights gained from the analyses of case studies and discussions with experts and international best practices. It also focuses on ways to avoid the identified failures and explains how to overcome the challenges related to the Saudi PPP market. The proposed framework includes key elements (political will, legal and regulatory context, institutional context and market maturity) and their related attributes which governments must consider carefully when proceeding with PPP implementation. |
