Factors affecting public private partnerships in urban renewal and development projects

Abstract

The South African urban renewal and development environments are facing a number of challenges. South Africa, like many countries around the world, is experiencing challenges delivering to its citizens, facilities, infrastructure and services, at a rate fast enough to satisfy the public demand. Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) are a possible solution to curbing the disparity between these levels of supply and demand. The field of urban renewal and development is no different in this regard. In fact, urban renewal projects act as an effective measure when gauging the success rate of PPPs within a country. This is due mainly to the sheer size of these projects, which by their very nature, demand a certain involvement from numerous parties. While PPPs may act as an effective aid for government to increase procurement and service delivery, these initiatives are not without their problems, in fact these partnerships are often plagued with much uncertainty. This research aims to provide insight into factors affecting PPPs, both negatively as well as positively, and specific to the area of urban renewal and development. The first stage of the research involved semi-structured interviews that were conducted with industry experts. This allowed for the next stage of research which involved surveying employees in the relevant industry through a structured questionnaire. Based on the findings of this research, as well as knowledge garnered from a review of available literature surrounding this topic, a model was created to provide users with a clear consolidated view of factors affecting PPPs in general and specific to the urban renewal and development sectors.