ABSTRACT
City planners see light rapid transit (LRT) as an efficient form of transport offering an attractive solution to many of the challenges faced by the congested cities. Public private partnerships (PPPs) for LRTs have proven to be something more of a challenge to public promoters, private investors and financiers alike, with the number of successful projects being outweighed by those which have run into difficulties, either in procurement or in implementation. Where LRTs are to be the part of a plan to regenerate an area, the volume, diversity, scale and relative timing of potential development proposals can be a significant forecasting challenge. Although the history of LRT public private partnerships has not always been a glorious one, people have been learning from past mistakes. Different contractual structures and forms of risk sharing are being tried, recognizing the unique challenges of LRT projects.
