Poor infrastructure impedes a nation's economic growth and international competitiveness. Insufficient infrastructure also represents a major cause of loss of quality of life, illness, and death. Infrastructure projects have high social rates of return; research indicates that the growth generated by infrastructure investment is pro-poor, with income levels of the poor rising more than proportionately to overall income increases. Yet, whereas the public sector provides the vast majority of financing for infrastructure services, investments have not matched demand, and governments are seeking methods to improve the efficient procurement of infrastructure services. Public-Private Participation (PPP) in infrastructure is one of the tools in a policy maker's arsenal to help increase investment in infrastructure services and improve its efficiency.

PPP represents an approach to procuring infrastructure services that is radically different from traditional public procurement, with numerous associated challenges.