Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) have increasingly emerged as a valuable mechanism for drawing in investment and expertise from the private sector to meet public infrastructure needs. PPPs involving transboundary international waters require particular attention given their huge potential for social and environmental impact. Transboundary Waters, Infrastructure Development and Public Private Partnership examines what PPPs are and how they function in the context of transboundary waters. It explains how environmental and social "safeguards operate in relation to PPPs and transboundary waters in light of the Nam Theun 2 and the Xayaburi Hydroelectric Power projects in Laos PDR. Finally, it draws important lessons from their contractual arrangements, costs, financing and risk mitigation that are relevant to PPPs in other transboundary waters matters.
| Transboundary Waters, Infrastructure Development and Public Private Partnership |
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| Through the Prism of the Nam Thuen 2 and Xayaburi Hydropower Projects |
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1 | (1) |
| Abstract |
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| Keywords |
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| Introduction |
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A Public-Private Partnerships |
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I What is a Public-Private Partnership? |
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II Types of Public-Private Partnerships |
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B International Watercourses Law and PPPs |
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I PPPS on International Watercourses and the Law of International Watercourses |
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II International Treaties |
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(a) The UN Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses |
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III Customary International Law |
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IV Application to the Nam Theun 2 Project |
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C The Governance of PPPS through `Policies' of Multilateral Development Banks |
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I Streams of International Governance of ppps through the World Bank Group |
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(a) The World Bank's `Safeguard' Polices |
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(b) Other Safeguard Policies |
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(c) Substantive Obligations |
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II Other Multilateral Development Banks |
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III The International Finance Corporation's Performance Standards |
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IV China and Chinese Development |
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(a) The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank |
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D The Mekong River Basin, the 1995 Mekong Agreement and the Nam Theun 2 Hydropower Project |
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I NT2 is Located in Lao PDR in the Mekong River Basin |
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II 1995 Agreement on the Cooperation for the Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin |
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(c) Data and Information Exchange |
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(f) Key Initiatives Launched Since the 1995 Mekong Agreement |
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III The Nam Theun 2 Project |
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I PPP Contractual Structure |
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III The Nam Theun 2 Hydropower Project |
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F Project Cost and Financing/Risk Mitigation |
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II Project Capital Structure |
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IV Political Risk Guarantees |
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57 | (5) |
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62 | (3) |
| List of References |
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Richard Kyle Paisley, is the Director, Global Transboundary International Waters Governance Initiative, Institute of Asian Research, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. His research, teaching, graduate supervision and advisory interests include international water and energy law, international environmental law, negotiations, environmental conflict resolution and international business transactions.
Theressa Etmanski, J.D., M.A. (2012), The University of British Columbia, is a Canadian lawyer who has worked in the field of human rights across Southeast Asia.
Riley T. Denoon, J.D. (2012), University of British Columbia, LL.M.(2017), McGeorge School of Law, is a J.S.D. candidate of International Transboundary Water Law at McGeorge School of Law
Patrick Weiler, J.D. (2012), The University of British Columbia, is a Barrister and Solicitor in BC, Canada.
