Norton Rose Fulbright launches interactive PPP risk allocation tool with GI Hub

• G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors welcome the launch

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, working in partnership with the Global Infrastructure Hub (GI Hub), has produced a tool for governments and stakeholders in developing economies to assist in building a pipeline of viable public-private partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects.

The GI Hub is an organisation established by the G20 group of nations to foster innovative approaches to global infrastructure development. The tool forms part of the GI Hub’s G20 commitment to deliver guidance that will enable governments to take projects to market faster and more cost-effectively, and help to address the trillion dollar infrastructure gap worldwide.

The interactive online tool provides information on the risk allocation between the public and private sectors in PPP transactions, along with related information on measures to mitigate issues and typical government support arrangements. It includes analysis of 12 types of projects within the transport, energy and water and sanitation sectors and also includes a blog forum in which Norton Rose Fulbright lawyers participate, allowing for further insight and discussion.

The primary focus is on those countries with limited or no prior experience of PPPs but is aimed at members and non-members of the G20, that wish to develop a program of PPP transactions to support the development and procurement of infrastructure.

Nick Merritt, global head of infrastructure, mining and commodities, Norton Rose Fulbright, comments:

“This is an important project which has seen collaboration from 13 of our offices to bring together insight that we have gained from over 20 years’ experience doing PPP deals around the world. PPP is an effective platform through which critical economic and social infrastructure can be procured and we are delighted to have the opportunity to work with the GI Hub and make a contribution towards the delivery of infrastructure around the world.

“The overriding issue that governments and private companies face in PPP transactions is the allocation of risk, and how much each party should take on. The tool that we have developed with GI Hub deals with this and provides a useful source of information to assist governments with their understanding of typical PPP risk allocation arrangements.”

Mark Moseley, GI Hub Senior Director, Legal Frameworks and Procurement Policy, comments:

“Risk allocation is at the centre of every PPP project. The tool which Norton Rose Fulbright has developed will help governments – especially those in emerging markets – design infrastructure projects which can successfully deliver high-quality infrastructure services which meet public needs.

The Norton Rose Fulbright team working on this initiative included lawyers from Amsterdam, Bangkok, Bogota, Calgary, Johannesburg, London, Melbourne, Munich, New York, Ottawa, Paris, Singapore and Sydney.

About the risk allocation tool and report

The GI Hub worked in partnership with global law firm, Norton Rose Fulbright, to prepare the report, Allocating Risks in Public-Private Partnership Contracts, 2016 edition. The contents of the report are based on the collective global experience of over 20 senior lawyers from the firm, in both advanced economies and emerging markets. The annotations in the report reflect positions reached in projects that have closed and the solutions founds in one project may not necessarily be right for another.

An interactive version of the tool, which includes a blog forum in which Norton Rose Fulbright lawyers participate, is available on the GI Hub website.

For further information please contact:

Meeta Vadher, Senior PR Manager
Tel: +44 (0)20 7444 3097; Mob: +44 (0)7595 886 276
meeta.vadher@nortonrosefulbright.com

Notes for editors:

Norton Rose Fulbright is a global law firm. We provide the world’s preeminent corporations and financial institutions with a full business law service. We have 3800 lawyers and other legal staff based in more than 50 cities across Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.

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