Re: CAHSR gets expressions of interest for "private" participation
Author: BOB2
Date: 10-02-2015 - 14:45
Interest yes, excitement, no....
California really has not created any of the necessary legal frameworks, nor the procurement, franchising, and contracting mechanisms for true investor driven "risk" taking public private partnerships to do potential PPP projects in any systematic "above board" and/or competitive way.
California is a big potential market for potential PPP's, so you kind of have to show "interest" to ever play. Unfortunately from my perspective, much of what is trying to pass for public private partnerships in CA really seems more like a genteel cover for good old fashioned contract steering to wired firms.
Richard Katz wrote the legislation for the only real and effective PPP demonstration in CA with his five corridors in the 1990's CA highway funding legislation, Out of five demonstration opportunities, only one got built however. That was the Route 91 toll lanes, and due to problems with that contract limiting any future improvements, as part of the franchise agreement, OCTA finally bought them out and now run the lanes.