Potentials for Public Private Partnerships for Saudi Municipalities

Abstract

Public Private Partnership (PPP) provides an approach for improving the efficiency of public services. Municipalities in Saudi Arabia are encouraged to get into arrangements with the private sector to improve their service delivery. However, existing practices in municipal services are confined to outsourcing and no attempt has been made towards PPP. This paper aims at examining the potentials for PPP in providing municipal services. The paper starts by reviewing a theoretical background to establish a general framework for PPP. Hence, the decision of municipalities to partner with a private stakeholder is a key resolution to municipalities; the paper defines the circumstances that make it a feasible decision to test their applicability to Saudi municipalities. Particular referencing is given to Jeddah city due to difficulties in getting data on municipal services in general which can be overcome by personal knowledge and experience. In this case, author’s knowledge about the city of Jeddah gathered from his post as a Deputy Mayor provides a descriptive source for the research which follows an explorative approach. The main findings of the paper include that most municipal services suffer from inadequate resources and that they are dominated by a low quality of delivery. Municipalities are therefore recommended to prepare a strategic framework that considers PPP to improve their services. However, PPP may not be a good alternative for all services; rather it can be a potential recourse for improving public work projects currently run through conventional procurement.