A generation after public-private partnerships burst onto the infrastructure construction scene as a project finance approach, participants are using lessons learned from successes and failures to refine methods, particularly as needs grow and public funding tightens further. But P3 isn't a panacea and improving it can be tough, as the U.K. now is finding.
In Canada, P3 infrastructure projects have become a mainstay in transportation and "social" infrastructure sectors such as health care and education, pushed by strong government support, standardization and lots of private-sector competition.