Cities and urban areas in India are playing pivotal roles as engines of economic growth, enhancing the quality of their citizens’ lives. Provision of high quality infrastructure and service delivery in cities is critical for realizing and sustaining cities’ productivity. This calls for large-scale investments and high quality managerial competence. Public Private Partnerships (PPP) is a potential strategy to promote urban infrastructure investments, improve efficiency in service delivery and promote inclusive growth.  Development of urban infrastructure through PPP is emerging as a key priority for the Government of India, State Governments and Urban Local Bodies.

The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM), led by the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, provides the framework and incentives for states and urban local governments to promote PPP. However, structuring and implementing PPP projects that are both viable and affordable in critical sectors such as urban water and sanitation, urban transportation, solid waste management remains a challenge. This is mainly due to lack of enabling legal and regulatory environment at the state/city level, apprehensions about managing PPP related contracts, capacity and knowledge gaps among institutions and key stakeholders.

The Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) and India PPP Capacity Building Trust (ICAP), both leading institutes in urban infrastructure management have joined hands to extend capacity support to government to promote Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in urban infrastructure. They will undertake training, policy analysis, advisory support, information and knowledge support, transaction advisory and other related activities. The key areas of focus under the partnership include PPP frameworks & practices, project development processes & practices, contract administration and risk management.