P3: build now- pay more later
The last article asked if public works projects really have to take this long. This article asks if P3s are the right answer to the funding crisis. When the State of Maryland felt that two major "New Starts" transit projects began to break the State's bank (combined cost $5.5 billion), the solution was P3, a public-private-partnership. US-DOT defines P3 as a “contractual agreements formed between a public agency and a private sector entity that allow for greater private sector participation in the delivery and financing of transportation projects.” The Washington suburb Purple light rail line is a 100% P3 project In other words: Build now, pay later, but pay more, lots more. A P3 project doesn't mean the private sector contributes or funds a project, it means the private sector finances a project! The cost to the public is simply deferred to a future point. Cost plus interest plus profit. In the case of the Purple Line a $2 billion project balloons to $5.6 billion f...
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