The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) and the Jamaican Ministry of Finance and Planning (MOFP) will initiate a program to launch public-private partnerships (PPPs) in Jamaica.

The program will promote the development of economic infrastructure and augment the provision of vital basic services by harnessing private sector financing and management capacity.

The MIF will provide a contribution of US$347,000 to the program for expert advisors to provide training to a range of public and private actors involved in PPPs, help refine project selection and identification processes, guide strategic communication and promotion, and help evaluate financing mechanisms for projects and the ongoing operations of the PPP program.

The MIF, DBJ and Ministry of Finance expect more than 100 public and private sector representatives to be trained in PPPs under the program and to support the development of at least one infrastructure PPP project from conception to the bidding stage.

This is the first such program to be financed under the MIF's new Regional Public-Private Partnerships Advisory Services Program, also known as New Frontiers in Public Private Partnerships.

The program is a five-year, US$8 million initiative, co-financed and implemented in coordination with the Infrastructure and Environment Sector of the IDB, that will provide technical assistance to countries in the Latin American and Caribbean region that are new to public-private partnerships.The program is expected to build the capacity of national and sub-national governments and help them identify and structure projects likely to attract private sector funding.The program also aims to create channels for learning and sharing experiences among countries in the region and beyond.

The Jamaican government has recently developed a new policy, procedural and institutional framework for PPPs, which the MIF-DBJ program will help operationalize. The new framework will establish a clearer and more comprehensive process to guide the identification, development, evaluation, implementation and management of PPPs.

Jamaica has several PPP projects in tender. Last week the government of Jamaica, through the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing initiated the process of identifying a private sector operator with proven experience in the aviation sector to operate, finance, develop and maintain the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) under a long term concession agreement.

In late may we reported that the deadline for the submission of bids for the privatisation of the Kingston Container Terminal (KCT) in Jamaica was extended to July 3. The bidding stage of the KCT Public Private Partnership Transaction began on January 16, 2014.

KCT is a regional container transshipment hub with an annual capacity of 2.8 million TEU and an annual throughput of 1.1 million.