Engaging local private operators in water supply and sanitation services : initial lessons from emerging experience in Cambodia, Colombia, Paraguay, the Philippines, and Uganda. Volume 1. Overview of experience

Between 1994 and 2004, the World Bank approved funding for WSS projects that supported local private sector participation in the development and operation of water supply services in small and medium-sized towns in a five countries : Cambodia, Colombia, Paraguay, the Philippines, and Uganda. These projects are breaking new ground and innovating in areas where prior experiences are scant or non-existent. As efforts to decentralise service delivery responsibility gain momentum, responsibility for managing services is shifting from centralised national agencies to a decentralised service delivery responsibility. There is a growing opportunity for the local private sector to partner with local governments or community associations in developing and operating WSS services. Developing effective partnerships between government institutions at local level and local private operators demands the adaptation of existing arrangements on national level. This report summarises information on the contracts and the selection process, extracts lessons learned to date from the cases, and recommends follow-up activities.

For the case studies the following topics were analysed : 1) basic information, the size of the target communities, the overall contract framework and the key actors; 2) the local context, constraints to be overcome, and objectives of the project; 3) the policy, legal, and regulatory frameworks; 4) preparation activities and the procurement process; 5) the terms of the contracts with POs; 6) how risks were allocated among the parties; 7) financial agreements; 8) results to the extent possible, given that most of the projects had not been completed at the time of the study.