PMFORUM Breaking News

Topic to be discussed at North America West Coast Infrastructure Conference in California in October

Is there a need for a national framework and a public consensus for financing Public Private Partnerships? This important topic will be reviewed and debated during the plenary session at the North America West Coast Infrastructure Partnerships conference in Los Angeles in October. This conference related to financing and developing Public Private Partnerships (P3) for major infrastructure projects will be held during 14-15 October 2008 at the Four Seasons hotel in Los Angeles, California, USA.

At 12:30 p.m. on 14 October, the subject of "National Frameworks and Public Funding" will be taken on by Adrian Moore, Executive Director or Reason Foundation, Ian Wainwright, and Deirdre Fretz, Americas Editor for Project Finance International. Other speakers may also participate.

Some of the related issues to be presented and discussed:

• Findings of recent reports in to P3s for transportation projects
• How do the procurement processes and funding structures for P3s differ across states and what are the benefits in unifying P3 processes in a common cross state framework?
• What are the ideal timeframes for P3s – should the lengths of contacts be limited, for example?
• How might public consensus and support be achieved for P3 projects?
• How might P3s complement other infrastructure funding mechanisms in the State including TIFF or bond financing?

The topic of financing large public infrastructure projects has never been more important. Public private partnership (P3) models for delivering public and private finance for major infrastructure projects are being developed and applied in the Western United States, Canada and Mexico. The west coast of North America is being transformed under these partnerships. With the British Columbia projects in Canada and Mexico border projects, West Coast North America is now the location of a number of major P3 projects, and projects that are candidates for the P3 approach. Organizations that want to learn about or participate in these big programs and projects should consider attending.

The North America West Coast Infrastructure Partnership conference in Los Angles will showcase opportunities for private sector organizations to get involved in public infrastructure projects across the Western USA, Canada and Mexico. It will also be an opportunity to meet some of the major participants, from owners representatives to global financing organizations.

The 1.5 day conference will be held at the Los Angeles Four Seasons hotel. Organizers are PFI conferences, a division of Thomson Reuters. The conference will highlight current and ongoing opportunities for funding organizations, sponsors, contractors and project advisors. A major networking opportunity and the only regional conference of its kind this year, the PFI West Coast Infrastructure conference will be an important event for global and regional partnership professionals and organizations. For information, visit http://www.pficonferences.com/pfi_west_coast_2008 conference_home.aspx