Public-private partnerships in Spanish Ports: Current status and future prospects

• Both economic crisis and vast experience in PPP investments make Spain an ideal case to analyse the concession contracts.
• The latest wave of news with regard to inadequate budgets or public losses has put the Spanish system in the spotlight.
• The non-explicit risk allocation is a threat to the development of the PPP contract, and may increase costs for the society.
• The control over demand estimations for port projects becomes vital.
• Regulation on PPP in ports should consider the concentration of market and the existence of vertical integration risks.

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) have proved to be more than adequate as a means to develop transport infrastructure, especially in the case of large-scale infrastructure such as ports. However, under certain specific circumstances they can lead to certain failures, and so huge public losses. Both the country's hard-hit economy and its vast experience in PPP investments make Spain an ideal case to analyse the successes and failures of these types of contracts, at a time of severe public investment constraints and need for real efficient execution of projects. This paper aims to provide an up-to-date review of PPP experiences in Spanish ports under a legislative framework which fosters public-private cooperation. More explicit and exhaustive contract terms, proper risk assignment, a higher control over demand forecast in port projects, and certain competition concerns are identified as the main requirements for future policy actions.