IRF | International Road Federation

Better Roads, Better World

 

IRF Members News

14 May 2010
Adriatic Region Infrastructure and Finance Summit

Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, was the venue for the IRF supported Adriatic Region Infrastructure Investment & Finance Summit 2010, which was organised on 11-12 May 2010 on the occasion of the Annual Meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The Summit's objective was to take stock of infrastructure investment needs in the countries lying on the Adriatic coast, and to highlight the need for cross border cooperation on projects to facilitate open trade and transportation of people and goods. The summit attracted delegates from the banking and investment industries, transport and management consultancy firms, agencies for investment promotion and Embassy representatives.

Caroline Visser, IRF Geneva's expert on Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), presented the economic advantages of PPPs from a contractor's point of view. Together with representatives from the Croatian national PPP Agency, the International Finance Corporation and the UN Economic Commission for Europe, she took part in a panel debate on infrastructure finance techniques, funding sources and PPP. The main outcomes of the debate were:

  • A call for a regional approach to applying PPPs, in order to enable the sharing of knowledge and experience, the harmonisation of legal and financial frameworks and the creation of a regional PPP market, with sufficient economic weight and continuous deal flow to make the region more attractive for investors and contractors.
  • Recognition of the need for international finance institutions to complement their financial support for individual projects with capacity building initiatives. Capacity within the various authorities to deal with complex PPP arrangements remains the main issue that needs to be tackled to enable successful PPPs in the region.