The 2024 APN Conference successfully ended

• The 2024 Asia-Pacific PPP Practitioners’ Network (APN) was held in Seoul, Korea, at Nine Tree ROKAUS Seoul Yongsan, from October 22 to October 23. The event was co-organized by the Korea Development Institute (KDI), the World Bank Group, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), and was sponsored by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF) of Korea.
  
  The conference was attended by infrastructure and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) practitioners, including senior-level officials from across Asia and the Pacific, professors and experts. This year, around 40 public sector officials working in infrastructure areas from Australia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, , India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam participated in the event.
  
  The APN was first held in 2010, and this year was its 12th event. The goal of the conference is to provide an opportunity to connect with PPP experts, participants from academia, and international organizations to promote peer learning and to act as a platform for regional and global PPP networks. 
  
  Entitled, ‘Advancing Sustainable and Resilient PPPs in a Dynamic Landscape’ this year’s conference tried to delve into the evolving landscape of PPPs, reflecting on past achievements, current challenges, and future opportunities. The conference sessions covered a wide array of topics including Korea's 30-year journey with PPPs, the integration of Quality Infrastructure Investment principles, private investment trends and regulatory reforms in low-and-middle-income countries, climate-smart solutions offered by ADB, and the advantages and challenges of unsolicited project proposals. Each session was curated to address key issues, present real-world case studies, and facilitate knowledge sharing among participants.
  
  The conference began with opening remarks by Hyungtai Kim, Senior Vice President and Chief Management Officer of KDI, followed by welcome remarks from Ji Hoon Oh, Director of PPP Policy Division of MOEF, and Byungsik Jung, Deputy Dean of ADBI. 
  
  Senior Vice President Kim, emphasizing that infrastructure is the backbone of a resilient society and equitable economy, expected that the conference be an opportunity for advancing infrastructure investment through PPPs amid today’s multifaceted socio-economic challenges including geopolitical tensions, fiscal constraints and climate change surrounding PPPs.
   

  

  
  The first session, “Korea: Reflecting on 30 Years of PPP and Charting the Path Forward,” (moderated by Kiwan Kim, Executive Director of the Public and Private Infrastructure Investment Management Center (PIMAC) of KDI) discussed how the Republic of Korea came to expand private sector involvement in infrastructure and explored ways to respond to new challenges. The session focused on the Korean case of PPP policy direction considering changing dynamics of the PPP projects such as aging demography of the country, while also sharing the experience from the Philippines.
  
  Session two, “Quality Infrastructure Investment in PPPs: Towards Sustainability and Resilience,” (moderated by Bo Young Jang, Senior Capacity Building and Training Specialist at ADBI) explored discuss how to maximize the economic, social, and environmental impact of PPP projects, aiming to achieve inclusive, sustainable, resilient infrastructure development in line with SDGs. The presenters discussed the integration of Quality Infrastructure Investment (QII) concepts and principles through the life cycle of PPP projects and shared Japan and Indonesia’s cases demonstrating how PPPs can address social challenges such as climate change, inequality, and poor governance. 
  
  Session three, “Unlocking Infrastructure Investment: PPP Trends, Reforms, and PPP Resources for Practitioners,” started with a presentation by Deblina Saha, Senior PPP Specialist of the World Bank and followed by discussions on current trends in private investment in infrastructure in developing countries and how regulatory reforms can spur more investments.
  
  Governments are increasingly looking to PPP options to mitigate and adapt to climate changes. Therefore, in session four, “Climate Change Considerations for PPPs,” (moderated by Adrian Torres, Director of the Office of Markets Development and PPP at ADB) explored climate change considerations across technical, financial and contractual aspects of PPP transactions. 
  
  To maximize the creativity and innovation from the private sector, unsolicited project proposals (USPs) are increasingly adopted in infrastructure development. Session six, “Advantages and Challenges of Unsolicited Project Proposals,” (moderated by Takkyung Kim, Director of PPP Division at PIMAC, KDI) sought to highlight potential advantages and necessary precautions for successful implementation of USPs, focusing on UPS experience in Korea and Australia.
  
  The last session marked how the carbon markets have evolved and can impact the PPP projects in Asia. In session six, “Leveraging Carbon Markets for PPPs in Asia,” (moderated by Adrian Torres, Director of the Office of Markets Development and PPP at ADB), introduced the carbon market rules aligned with the Paris Agreement and how we should anticipate the changes in the revenue streams of PPP projects can adjust throughout the lifecycle of infrastructure with private investments.  
  
  For the country roundtable, representatives from Azerbaijan, Cambodia, and Malaysia shared current state of PPPs and ways to promote PPP projects in respective countries. All participants shared his or her opinions based on the diverse backgrounds and experiences, actively delving into the conference's theme of PPP investment and issues surrounding climate change.