Comparing Life Cycle Cost of Public and PPP Transportation Infrastructure in Thailand: An Empirical Evidence

Infrastructure plays an important role in promoting short and long-term economic growth. However, due to the nature and characteristics of infrastructure projects which requires large amount of capital, private involvement in infrastructure development, also known as public-private-partnership or PPP, has therefore become an alternative to traditional public procurement. The main arguments for deploying PPP are three folds. First, PPP helps governments tap private resources for funding needed investment in infrastructure projects. Second, private’s expertise in managing an infrastructure project is highly recognized. And, finally, PPP is believed by many to be delivered in a manner that is more cost-effective than the traditional methods. However, the perception that PPP provides value for money (VfM) over traditional procurement still lacks empirical evidence, especially in Thailand. Accordingly, the main objective of this research project is to develop a computational model that can compare the life cycle cost (LCC) of public and PPP infrastructure projects. Data collection from a group of public and private transportation projects in Thailand will be employed to compare the average life cycle cost between them. The results of this study will provide additional empirical evidence to the body of knowledge in the field of infrastructure management.