Washington DC unveils PPP pipeline

The District of Columbia Office of Public-Private Partnerships (OP3) has released its first pipeline of public works projects and has given private-sector developers one month to submit proposals.

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser announced the 12-project pipeline last Friday and said 28 November will be the start of a 30-day period where the city's government will accept unsolicited proposals for infrastructure projects. OP3 is a government agency that launched last November to foster collaboration between the private sector and Washington's government to complete major infrastructure projects.

“The District is positioning itself to use public-private partnerships and other innovative solutions to more effectively build and maintain that infrastructure to create jobs, broaden prosperity, and serve residents and visitors alike,” said Bowser, who helped create OP3 with introducing the Public-Private Partnership Act of 2014.

The projects OP3 has put in its pipeline range from streetlights, renewable energy projects and waste management facilities to a new corrections centre and library renovations.

The streetlight modernisation project will retrofit the city's lights with more energy efficient LED bulbs, install a remote monitoring and control system and repair and maintain the facilities. Washington is also looking to procure solar projects, mostly through rooftop installations, as part of its goal to produce 5 percent of the city's energy from local solar resources by 2032.

Social infrastructure projects include a 100,000 square foot expansion of the city's police headquarters and the design, build, finance and maintenance of the Lamond-Riggs Library.

“We have identified key projects across all 8 wards of the District and every asset class that are strong candidates for the P3 approach,” OP3 director Seth Miller Gabriel said. “Delivering just half of these projects will make us the P3 capital of the United States and help a lot of people's lives in the process.”