IDB Promotes Public-Private Partnerships to Attract Investment and Close Infrastructure Gaps

The Bank and Peru’s Ministry of Economy and Finance host the largest forum on PPPs in Latin America and the Caribbean

LIMA – The 12th edition of PPP Americas, the foremost event on public-private partnerships (PPPs) in Latin America and the Caribbean, kicked off yesterday, bringing together more than 850 leaders from the public and private sectors, investors, and international experts.

The event is organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and its private-sector arm, IDB Invest, in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Peru and ProInversión. It will address the challenges and opportunities that PPPs provide to attract private investment and help close infrastructure gaps.

Senior IDB officials participating in the event include Executive Vice President Jordan Schwartz, IDB Invest CEO James P. Scriven, Infrastructure and Energy Manager Tomás Serebrisky, and the IDB’s representative in Peru, Tomás Lopes-Texeira.

PPP Americas 2025 also features high-ranking officials from the Peruvian government, including Minister of Economy and Finance José Salardi, ProInversión Executive Director Luis Del Carpio, and the ministers of housing, energy, and transportation, among others.

During the opening session, Vice President Schwartz emphasized, "Public-private partnerships are a powerful tool to boost investment, create jobs, and improve the quality of life in Latin America and the Caribbean. When structured correctly, they expand access to essential services such as water, energy, transportation, health, and education, strengthening the economic and social development of our countries."

Minister Salardi noted, "It is very important for Peru to host this edition of PPP Americas and to welcome authorities from the region to discuss and share experiences in public-private-partnership processes and investment portfolios from different countries. Peru has a strong track record of more than 22 years and 139 PPP projects valued at $36 billion. Currently, the country anticipates a portfolio of $70 billion in projects in sanitation, health, transportation, irrigation, hydrocarbons, and education, among other areas."

Among the world’s developing regions, Latin America and the Caribbean leads in attracting private participation in infrastructure projects. In the past 30 years, the region has received about $770 billion from the private sector, almost 25% more than the countries of East Asia and the Pacific.

Investing in resilient infrastructure directly impacts economic growth and long-term competitiveness: every dollar invested in quality infrastructure can generate up to four dollars in economic returns.

According to the latest Infrascope, the diagnostic tool commissioned by the IDB and developed by Economist Impact, the number of PPP projects in the region has grown by 25% between 2022 and 2024, and total investment has increased by 15%.

International and regional experience both show that developing and maintaining infrastructure under the PPP model brings significant improvements in efficiency and innovation, optimizes the use of public resources, and maximizes the economic and social impact of projects. For example, road operation and maintenance contracts through PPPs in Peru and Brazil have achieved efficiencies close to 25%.

In recent years, the IDB has supported more than 50 PPP projects in the region, with the potential to mobilize $18 billion in high-impact investment.

In 2024, the IDB contributed to closing $2.95 billion in five key infrastructure projects, in addition to initiating contracting processes worth $1.9 billion to modernize infrastructure services in several countries.

In 2020-2024, IDB Invest had a portfolio of 25 PPP projects in the region, with an investment of $25.319 billion.