PPP Canada to dissolve

PPP Canada, a Crown corporation and government-backed supporter of public-private partnerships, has begun winding down operations and will dissolve early next year.

“With the P3 model now widely adopted across the country, PPP Canada has effectively fulfilled its mandate,” said Amarjeet Sohi, Canada’s infrastructure minister.

Operations at PPP Canada will finish by the end of this year, with the agency dissolving on 31 March 2018. This roughly coincides with the launch of the country’s C$35 billion ($27.50 billion; €23.68 billion) infrastructure bank, which, in addition to providing financing for projects, is expected to play an advisory role as a source of expertise on PPP projects.

The bank’s launch, however, played only a secondary role in the government’s decision to scrap PPP Canada, which was launched in February 2009 to provide expertise and help government tap incentives for PPPs. The aim of the agency, according to a government spokesman, was to push for the consideration of PPPs as a possible procurement method, a goal that the government believes has been achieved. Further, the proliferation of several provincial organisations with similar missions obviated the need for the federal agency.

Over roughly nine years, PPP Canada has invested more than C$1.3 billion in 25 projects, according to the infrastructure ministry. The C$172 million that remains in the government’s P3 fund will be transferred back to the government’s fiscal framework, while C$267 million appropriated for but not transferred to the agency in the 2017-18 budget will remain in the framework.