Public–Private Partnership Procurement Strategy in Australia and the United Kingdom

Infrastructure procurement is one of the key aspects of any country’s Gross Domestic Product and it continues to grow even with the disruptions caused by COVID-19. Among the various delivery options for infrastructure projects, PPPs offer opportunities to improve services and achieve better value for money in the development, maintenance and operation of service-based infrastructure. As such, PPPs have been chosen for infrastructure delivery in many developed and developing economies. Among the countries with a mature PPP market, the UK and Australia were chosen for the detailed analysis of this study as the two countries have chosen two contradictory approaches to procuring infrastructure projects through PPPs. The analysis of the two case studies in Australia and the UK explored a variety of innovative procurement strategies. The comparative study on PPP procurement policy in the UK and Australia found that Australia has improved significantly in making the information transparent leading to public acceptance of these projects while the UK can improve around this aspect. The study has also highlighted the importance of tailoring procurement strategies for each project based on its unique characteristics, drawing experiences from past projects. Finally, the study has found the importance of making societal and discursive decisions in infrastructure procurement irrespective of the aims of the political party in power.