OECD Principles for Private Sector Participation in Infrastructure

| Documentation | Further resources | Bookmark www.oecd.org/daf/investment/ppp

On 20 March 2007, the OECD Council approved the OECD Principles for Private Sector Participation in Infrastructure to help governments work with private sector partners to finance and bring to fruition projects in areas of vital economic importance, such as transport, water and power supply and telecommunications.

“Helping countries find new ways of financing investment in areas like water supply and sanitation is one of the OECD’s priorities,” OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría commented. “These Principles will help both developed and developing countries move forward with infrastructure projects to boost economic growth and improve the lives of their citizens.”

Under the aegis of the Investment Committee, the Principles were developed in co-operation with other OECD bodies and through a process of consultation with a broad group of public and private sector experts from OECD and non-OECD countries, as well as from non-governmental organisations.

They are intended to be used for government assessment, action plans and reporting, international co-operation and public-private dialogue, in conjunction with other OECD instruments, such as the Policy Framework for Investment and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

Building on the Principles, the OECD has developed practical guidance for governments wishing to engage the private sector in water infrastructure.

The OECD is now starting work on a project which seeks to engage the private sector in support of a low carbon future. Launched in 2009, the project aims to identify good practices in the design and use of public and corporate policies.

Documentation

• Text of the Principles: OECD Principles for Private Sector Participation in Infrastructure / Les Principes de l’OCDE pour la participation du secteur privé aux infrastructures, 20 March 2007
• News release: OECD countries agree Principles for private sector role in infrastructure projects, 26 March 2007 

Further resources

1)   International instruments

• OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises www.oecd.org/daf/investment/instruments
• OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises www.oecd.org/daf/investment/guidelines.
• OECD Code of Liberalisation of Capital Movements www.oecd.org/dataoecd/10/62/4844455.pdf
• OECD Recommendation concerning Structural Separation in Regulated Industries www.oecd.org/competition. 
• OECD Principles of Corporate Governance www.oecd.org/daf/corporate/principles
• Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Assets  www.oecd.org/dataoecd/46/51/34803211.pdf
• OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions www.oecd.org/daf/nocorruption/convention
• United Nations Convention against Corruption www.unodc.org/pdf/crime/convention_corruption/signing/Convention-e.pdf
• International Labour Organisation Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work www.ilo.org/dyn/declaris/declarationweb.indexpage

2)   Tools and guidance

• The Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF) Toolkits  http://wbln0018.worldbank.org/ppiaf/activity.nsf/toolkits 
• EU Commission Guidelines for Successful Public-Private Partnerships
  http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/guides/ppp_en.pdf
• UNCITRAL Legislative Guide on Privately Financed Infrastructure Projects www.uncitral.org/uncitral/en/uncitral_texts/
  procurement_infrastructure/2001Guide_PFIP.html
• International Finance Corporation’s Equator Principles www.equator-principles.com/principles.shtml
• Business Leaders Initiative on Human Rights’ Guide for integrating human rights into business management www.blihr.org/
• Human Rights and Business Project http://hrca.humanrightsbusiness.org of the Danish Institute for Human Rights
• OECD Policy Framework for Investment www.oecd.org/daf/investment/pfi
• OECD Risk Awareness Tool for Multinational Enterprises in Weak Governance Zones www.oecd.org/dataoecd/26/21/36885821.pdf
• OECD Guiding Principles for Regulatory Quality and Performance www.oecd.org/dataoecd/19/51/37318586.pdf
• OECD Recommendation on Common Approaches to the Environment and Officially Supported Export Credits http://webdomino1.oecd.org/olis/2005doc.nsf/Linkto/td-ecg(2005)3
• OECD Best Practices for Budget Transparency www.oecd.org/dataoecd/33/13/1905258.pdf
• DAC Guiding Principles for Guidelines Guiding Principles on Using Infrastructure to Reduce Poverty (in Promoting Pro-Poor Growth: Infrastructure) www.oecd.org/dataoecd/16/46/36301078.pdf  

Conferences

• OECD Global Forum on International Investment “Best practices in promoting investment for development”, Paris, France, 27-28 March 2008
• NEPAD-OECD Roundtable on Strengthening Investment Climate Assessment and Reform in NEPAD Countries, Lusaka, Zambia, 27-28 November 2007
• NEPAD-OECD Roundtable on Mobilising Private Investment in Africa in Support of Development: Laying the Foundations for Sustained Progress, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, 12-13 December 2006
• OECD Global Forum on International Investment “Enhancing the investment climate: the case of infrastructure”, Istanbul, Turkey, 6-7 November 2006