The announcement by the Obama Administration that they are going to emphasize and support an expanded role for the private sector in financing, operating and delivering transportation projects in the US gives renewed hope to many who have skeptically observed the slow development of the U.S. public private partnership market. This new push comes at a time when the economy is stabilizing, the job market is healing, transportation demand is increasing and interest rates remain low. In other words, the timing is quite good. Even though crisis can sometimes produce rapid reforms, the reality is that stable economic conditions are more conducive to driving sustainable change. It allows government officials to focus more on forward thinking initiatives than crisis response.

by Tyler Duvall, Principal, McKinsey & Company