Driving factors for adopting public-private partnership in Ethiopia and comparison with other countries

Abstract

PurposeThe extensive public financing for infrastructure guided by the state-led development policy has crowded out private sector participation for infrastructure development in Ethiopia. Although public-private partnership (PPP) has been used by many countries, the Government of Ethiopia has started to adopt it for major infrastructure development recently. Thus, it is important to investigate the reasons that motivated the government to adopt the PPP model to provide insights to the sector players. This paper aims to explore the driving factors for adopting PPP for infrastructure development focusing on the energy sector of Ethiopia and compared it with other countries.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a comprehensive literature review of previous research outcomes and a purposively sampled questionnaire survey of professionals in Ethiopia.FindingsThe results of the study revealed that the five top driving factors perceived by the experts for adopting PPP in the energy sector of Ethiopia include the private sector has the ability to raise funds for project, facilitate creative and innovative approaches, save time in delivering the project, accelerate project development and private sector possess better mobility. The comparison of the driving factors with other countries also suggests that each county has its own reason and preference for adopting the PPP model.Originality/valueThe research result contributes to the development of PPP in Ethiopia and other developing countries at the early stage of PPP implementation. It also provides information to policymakers, sponsors, financiers and developers of PPP projects to understand the government's motivations to implement PPP in Ethiopia.