THE POTENTIAL OF RUSSIAN REGIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE ON THE PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP PRINCIPLES

Abstract

Like many other countries of the world, Russia is experiencing a deficit of infrastructure investment. One of the main ways to overcome this deficit is to attract private investment using public-private partnership (PPP) mechanisms. However, a significant part of decisions on the implementation of PPP projects are made without taking into account the specifics of a particular territory, which can decrease the project’s effectiveness. Similarly, the methods for assessing the development of PPP in the regions are solely based on factors that are not directly related to their socio-economic indicators, and only consider the quality of management and the experience of implementation of PPP projects. Using the example of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the author develops an integral index that takes into account institutional, budgetary, and socio-economic indicators reflecting the region's readiness to implement PPP projects as well as the need for such projects. The results of calculating this integral index for transport infrastructure projects reflect a significant differentiation of Russian regions in terms of the potential for the PPP development. Generally, regions with a high level of socio-economic development (including Moscow, St. Petersburg and most of the leading industrial regions) have a more significant potential for using PPPs in the infrastructure development. Regions possessing a favorable transport and geographical location, as well as an institutional environment conducive to attracting private investment, also have high potential.