MINISTER without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Dr Horace Chang, says the Government will be making greater use of public-private partnerships (PPPs) over the next three years as it looks to significantly boost the country’s infrastructure.

He said the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) will be working with Government agencies to develop a number of PPP arrangements in order to generate private sector investment through long-term concessions.

PPPs, Chang said, have been utilised for several major projects, including upgrading of the Sangster International Airport, development of the east-west and north-south legs of Highway 2000, as well as the Kingston Container Terminal expansion project.

Dr Chang said the arrangement can be used to expand and improve several major infrastructure assets, such as the Norman Manley International Airport, the School Solar Project, and the National Water Commission’s (NWC) Northern Parishes Water Supply Project, among others.

“There are numerous economic benefits to a well-structured PPP. These include: the creation of jobs, facilitating private investment capital, better management of assets, and injection of new technology to deliver high-quality public infrastructure,” he said.

Dr Chang was speaking at the opening of the DBJ’s two-day Infrastructure Conference at Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on Monday.

In the meantime, he said the Government was looking to use performance-based PPP contracts to aid the NWC in reducing non-revenue water.

This refers to water that has been produced and is lost before reaching the customer. This is through leaks, theft or metering inaccuracies.

“We’re currently working on a major project to reduce the country’s non-revenue water from 65 per cent to 30 per cent in the Corporate Area. Water is an area that offers opportunity for PPP,” he noted.

Dr Chang said he was informed by the works that an investment of US$3 billion will be required to satisfy the water needs of the country, and much of the financing in this regard will come from PPPs.

In his remarks, Canadian High Commissioner to Jamaica Sylvain Fabi expressed pleasure in collaborating with the DBJ in the staging of the infrastructure conference.

Fabi noted that the Canadian model of PPP is considered to be one of the most successful in the world.

It features more than 200 infrastructure projects delivered representing more than CAN$70 billion of capital investments in health care, transportation, among other areas.

Under the theme ‘Delivering Economic Growth Through Partnership: Private Sector Participation in Infrastructure Development’, the two-day infrastructure conference was expected to explore private sector contribution as an alternative financing mechanism in the delivery of public infrastructure.

The conference is expected to see local, regional and international experts engaged in panel discussions, presentations, and showcasing case studies of successful PPP projects throughout the Caribbean.