Costa Rica, Guatemala and El Salvador are the countries in the region with the best conditions to develop Public-Private Partnerships, followed by Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.
The 2019 Infrascope index, which evaluates 23 indicators and 78 qualitative and quantitative sub-indicators in Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in Latin America, is prepared by The Economist Intelligence Unit and has the financial backing of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The report explains that institutional frameworks and resources for project preparation are strengths for Guatemala, the best-positioned Central American country with a 74 out of 100 rating. In terms of transparency, Guatemala’s PPP agency publishes documentation of all phases of PPPs online, and Guatemala is one of the four Latin American countries that publishes project evaluations online.
The document states that “… El Salvador’s score for Institutions has declined since 2017, placing the country in sixth place in the overall ranking, just below Guatemala. Unlike Guatemala, El Salvador lacks a project development fund, although its PPP agency has a budget to guide the preparation, contracting and implementation of PPPs. El Salvador’s score in the Regulations category also showed a slight decrease compared to 2017 because of the lack of a national infrastructure plan.
Although Costa Rica ranked seventh with El Salvador in the Institutions category, its scores have improved, while those of El Salvador have decreased. In fact, Costa Rica was the country that improved the most in the category, thanks to a stable PPP agency and an independent project development fund, financed by the Inter-American Development Bank.
However, further improvements are needed for Costa Rica to achieve parity with the countries that have the best results in this category, such as increasing transparency and accountability by publishing more information and evaluations of projects online, and improving the capacity of the PPP agency to conduct evaluations.
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Nicaragua improved its score in the Business and Investment Climate category, although this increase was overshadowed by a decrease in its Financing score. The new regulations were issued in 2016 and 2017, and public statements by government officials have demonstrated their support for PPPs. However, there is no evidence of multiparty support, the local capital market does not have tools such as green and impact bonds, and institutional investors have no interest in facilitating the financing of PPPs.”
See full report.
Source: Centralamericadata.com
