CLDP held a series of three workshops on September 9-11 & 13 on public-private partnerships (PPPs) in partnership with the Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) and the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu. The first workshop was a two-day workshop for government ministries. The workshop covered the process for competitively tendering PPPs and evaluating bids. Additionally, the workshop also provided IBN with insights into how to set up a PPP authority. Under the new PPP law instituted in March 2019, IBN was designated the new PPP authority and is currently in the process of institutionalizing its new procedures. The workshop was an opportune time to begin engaging with IBN under its new authority.

The second workshop was a half-day workshop for Parliamentarians to help them understand how PPP projects are structured and how political support can help a project to succeed. CLDP moderated a panel comprised of the former CEO of IBN, a senior lawyer to the Millennium Challenge Authority, and a DFID-sponsored contractor working with IBN on challenges of implementing PPPs in Nepal. The last workshop was a half-day workshop for members of the media. The workshop was designed to give the media a better understanding of PPPs in order to report on them. CLDP drew experts from the Illinois Department of Transportation’s PPP Office, the Port of Tampa, and the leading Florida law firm on PPPs.