Structure, financing and risk management in large port infrastructure concessions: The Chilean case

Abstract

The success of private sector participation in infrastructure is highly conditioned by the ability of governments to properly shape and control the public-private contractual relationship. Therefore, determining the accurate mechanism to control private participation becomes imperative, both ex-ante (by designing correct contracts, properly assigning risks; designing effective competitive tendering and robust and transparent award criteria, and implementing effective oversight and regulation) and ex-post (post contract award management and careful handling of renegotiation requests). In addition, risk management in private concession processes is a major issue, particularly with very large infrastructure projects where the risks may be an obstacle to private finance.