2017 was a busy year in the world of infrastructure and public-private partnerships at the World Bank Group: from new knowledge products and tools, to innovations and success stories in places ranging from Peru and Ukraine, to Jordan, Pakistan, and Fiji. As we look at our top content that resonated most with you, our blog readers, we can categorize these posts into three broad categories:
1. Leading voices in the field: We feature leading experts in infrastructure, public-private partnerships, and financial services from around the world and are happy to see that our readers were as excited about their work as we are.
Explore the Global Infrastructure Outlook—a landmark country-based online tool and report developed by the Global Infrastructure Hub with Oxford Economics, which forecasts infrastructure investment needs across 50 countries and 7 sectors to 2040.
Monish Patolawala | May 2017
Find out how the partnership between the Kenyan Government and GE Healthcare is improving services and making specialized care more accessible for people across 98 public hospitals in Kenya’s 47 counties.
Chidi Izuwah | September 2017
In September, Nigeria became the first country to launch a dedicated web portal, listing and detailing all PPP projects in the country. Find out how this initiative came about.
The 24 Schools PPP in Greece: a lesson in perseverance and innovative funding
Nikos Mantzoufas | July 2017
Read about the innovative structuring and financing of 24 school PPP projects, covering 6,500 students in 10 municipalities in the historical region of Attica. This project marked the reopening of the PPP market in Greece after the country’s financial crisis.
2. Women: One of the key messages of the 2017 Global Infrastructure Forum was the need to correct the gender imbalance in the field. On our blog, the numbers speak for themselves—many of our top-read posts were authored by women.
Susanne Foerster & Luciana Drummond E Silva | August 2017
Modern street lighting schemes can help municipalities lower energy consumption, increase cost savings, as well as improve safety. What are some of the key trends related to street lighting PPP projects? Find out in this blog.
Cynthia Olotch | February 2017
An in-depth look at Kenya’s ability to prepare, procure and manage PPPs based on the prevailing policy, legal and regulatory framework, as assessed by the Benchmarking PPP Procurement 2017 report. See also our Q&A with Cynthia in the “10 Candid Career Questions” series.
Christina Paul | September 2017
The World Bank Group’s Guidance on PPP Contractual Provisions, 2017 edition aims to address some of the key questions for the public (contracting) authorities involved in PPPs. This blog begins to discuss and explore the issues covered in the 2017 Guidance.
Sara Sigrist & Angelica Toro | February 2017
Not all PPPs have to involve large, high-cost national infrastructure projects. This post provides a quick guide on ways cities can mobilize private capital to deliver innovative, smaller-scale projects.
3. WBG Knowledge Products: Research and publications are among the most important things that we do here at the World Bank Group. Make sure to check out our tools page and the PPP Knowledge Lab, the largest knowledge repository on PPPs and Infrastructure.
David Baxter | June 2017
Some important advice to players in the private sector, based on information found in the World Bank Group’s Benchmarking PPP Procurement 2017 report.
Matt Bull | June 2017
Many toll road PPPs have ended in high-profile bankruptcies, renegotiations and government bailouts because of inaccurate forecasts, reducing the appetite for such projects. So what can we do about this risk? Find out in this post, discussing the findings of the Toll-Roads PPPs: Identifying, Mitigating and Managing Traffic Risk report.
Olivier Fremond & Rui Monteiro | April 2017
Find out what’s new in the 3rd edition of the PPP Reference Guide, our ultimate resource on everything PPP, released in April 2017.
Aijaz Ahmad & Sara Ahmed | May 2017
In the past two decades, Sharīʿah-compliant assets have grown to nearly $1.9 trillion across 50 Muslim and non-Muslim countries around the world. This post focuses on the findings of a report published earlier in 2017, exploring the potential of Islamic finance in development. Make sure to also check out our most recent report on Mobilizing Islamic Finance for Infrastructure Public-Private Partnerships, and tune in to the live event on January 18, 2018.
In the comments below, please let us know which was your favorite post from 2017 and what you wish to see more of in the year to come. Thanks for reading and Happy 2018!
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