Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 61-66).

Thesis (M. Hous. M.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Hous. M.)--University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Hous.M.)--University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

This research paper aims to explore the use of project finance to fund urban infrastructure in order to aid the development of affordable housing. This is due to the high rate of urbanisation in developing nations, leading to the challenge of providing adequate shelter and the requisite infrastructure. Although South Africa has been lauded for making observable strides in housing and infrastructure provision, infrastructure is still required. There is reluctance to bring private finance into infrastructure development in developing economies because full recovery of invested capital is not easy to achieve. Project finance is recommended to improve the rate of shelter provision as well as to catalyse the eradication of slums. Project finance was investigated through interviewing selected participants, based on their role in the infrastructure provision sector. The outcomes indicated that project finance is an appropriate tool due to its characteristics.

Opinions on what is best way to provide more people in low income countries with adequate water and sanitation services have changed over time. A recent policy paradigm suggests that private companies should be involved in WSS service provision to improve the situation for those in need. This study looks at how issues of water supply and sanitation (WSS) have been confronted by the international donor community and how strategies to improve performance in this sector have changed from the early 1970’s up until today. The evolution of ideas and strategies are linked to overall development policies in order to better understand the forces that have shaped policy redirections in the sector. In addition, the case study of Ghana gives a preliminary picture of how donor policies have been played out in a national context. The concept of problem frames is used as an analytical tool in order to highlight how ideas change and replace each other but also to illustrate how problem frames are becoming more inclusive as new knowledge and experiences are gained. The study finds that while hardware knowledge such as engineering skills were put at the forefront to begin with, software matters such as capacity building and appropriate management of the sector gained increased attention with time. As the water challenge becomes increasingly framed as a matter of managing scarcity, the economic value of water is emphasized and private sector participation is promoted on a larger scale. With time the cross sectoral nature of the WSS issue gains increased attention as its overall impact on poverty reduction and environmental sustainability is emphasized. This holistic approach also contributes to an increased emphasis on sanitation as important to sustainable WSS systems and services. The case study of Ghana shows that all in all, institutional change within the Ghanaian WSS sector during the post independence era, mirror international policy trends. Power is moving out from the state in different directions and responsibilities are gradually hived off from the central organization to local authorities or other agencies working on specific issues. Subsidies on water tariffs are abolished and at the end of the period the private sector is also invited to act in the sector. However, recent trends indicate that as democracy deepens and civil society is growing stronger this also effects policy development in the Ghanaian WSS sector.

<p>Opinions on what is best way to provide more people in low income countries with adequate water and sanitation services have changed over time. A recent policy paradigm suggests that private companies should be involved in WSS service provision to improve the situation for those in need.</p><p>This study looks at how issues of water supply and sanitation (WSS) have been confronted by the international donor community and how strategies to improve performance in this sector have changed from the early 1970’s up until today. The evolution of ideas and strategies are linked to overall development policies in order to better understand the forces that have shaped policy redirections in the sector. In addition, the case study of Ghana gives a preliminary picture of how donor policies have been played out in a national context. The concept of problem frames is used as an analytical tool in order to highlight how ideas change and replace each other but also to illustrate how problem frames are becoming more inclusive as new knowledge and experiences are gained.</p><p>The study finds that while hardware knowledge such as engineering skills were put at the forefront to begin with, software matters such as capacity building and appropriate management of the sector gained increased attention with time. As the water challenge becomes increasingly framed as a matter of managing scarcity, the economic value of water is emphasized and private sector participation is promoted on a larger scale. With time the cross sectoral nature of the WSS issue gains increased attention as its overall impact on poverty reduction and environmental sustainability is emphasized. This holistic approach also contributes to an increased emphasis on sanitation as important to sustainable WSS systems and services.</p><p>The case study of Ghana shows that all in all, institutional change within the Ghanaian WSS sector during the post independence era, mirror international policy trends. Power is moving out from the state in different directions and responsibilities are gradually hived off from the central organization to local authorities or other agencies working on specific issues. Subsidies on water tariffs are abolished and at the end of the period the private sector is also invited to act in the sector. However, recent trends indicate that as democracy deepens and civil society is growing stronger this also effects policy development in the Ghanaian WSS sector.</p>

This thesis analyses the development of urban water supply and sanitation services in Ghana from 1909 to 2005.  Special focus is put on institutional arrangements with regard to networked, large scale and centrally managed water and sewerage services. The national and international historical context is highlighted as a way to understand policy redirections in the sector. Further on, the concept of frames is used as an analytical tool in order to put light on the assumptions, arguments and reasons behind institutional reforms. The thesis finds that it was not until the water and sanitation challenge was framed from a productivity perspective, as opposed to a pure humanitarian “health frame”, that funds were released for investments in WSS infrastructure. To begin with, development strategies were largely focussed on “filling the gaps” in terms of manpower, technical and financial resources. As the water challenge was increasingly framed as a matter of managing scarcity, a new thinking gradually emerged which emphasized entrepreneurship, business mindedness and management skills as a way to achieve more efficiency within the sector. This development was also paralleled by a shift in the favoured organisational structure from an extremely centralised state utility model to a gradual focus on decentralisation and unbundling of the sector. Here a strong focus was put on private sector participation in urban water supply whereas the non-commercially viable task of sewerage development was decentralised to local authorities. The study finds that formal institutional change in the sector has been largely donor driven. However, the privatisation element of the recent urban water sector reform did not go unquestioned and a strong opposition movement concerned with the possible negative effects of privatisation was formed. Eventually the initial lease arrangement was transformed into a management contract where its signing was brought to closure in 2005. Besides changing frames strong elements of continuity in the urban water supply and sanitation sector development in Ghana are identified. Historical evidence demonstrate that urban water delivery was a highly political issue in Ghana already during colonial times which, just as today, was closely connected to the framing of water as independence and national integrity. The issue of finance and pricing has remained a constant concern and so the debate cannot be categorized as a novel issue that solely emanates from neo-liberal political trends during the 1980’s and 1990’s. The thesis argues that a legacy of a colonial frame tends to continue normalising inequalities in access and consumption.  Continuity can also be found in a neglect of the issue of sanitation which persistently lags behind the development of water distribution. The dissertation concludes that the perceived space for policy alternatives in Ghanaian WSS sector development has been largely constrained by the historical context and contemporary development theories. Therefore, to constantly strive towards a frame reflective policy dialogue is strongly encouraged as a way for policy planners and decision makers to make well informed decisions for the future.

Thesis (M.Hous.M.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Essa dissertação aborda a concessão de aeroportos no Brasil, estudando principalmente o processo de transferência da gestão do Aeroporto Internacional Tancredo Neves- Confins do poder público para a iniciativa privada. A concessão dos aeroportos administrados pela Infraero foi iniciada em 2011, e por ser fato recente, há poucos estudos sobre o tema. Tendo a concessão do Aeroporto de Confins iniciado em 2013, não foram encontrados trabalhos que estudassem esse processo, havendo assim uma lacuna de conhecimento a qual essa dissertação visa minimizar. Para tal, foi desenvolvida uma pesquisa qualitativa, por meio da pesquisa documental, de análise documental, e de uma adaptação da análise de conteúdo, aliados à revisão de literatura, para elaborar um estudo de caso. O edital do leilão e o contrato de concessão do Aeroporto de Confins foram os principais documentos estudados. Destaca-se que o leilão foi realizado por meio de inversão de fases, em que foram analisados apenas os Documentos de Habilitação do grupo vencedor após a sessão pública do leilão. Outro ponto estudado foi o critério de julgamento do leilão, que foi o de maior valor de outorga, apontado por diversos autores como prejudicial à modicidade de tarifas prevista pela Lei Geral das Concessões. Ainda se tratando do edital, houve a exigência de operador aeroportuário que tivesse movimentado mais de 12,5 milhões de passageiros em um dos cinco anos anteriores ao leilão. Com isso foi demandada a participação de parceiro internacional na concessionária, com experiência em gestão de aeroportos do porte de Confins. Os parceiros eram a Zurich Airport e a Munich Airport International Beteiligungs- GMBH, contudo a segunda empresa não compõe a Sociedade de Propósito Específico-SPE que administra o aeroporto, sendo sua saída justificada pela SAC/PR como reorganização societária nos termos previstos pelo contrato. A composição da SPE traz mais uma questão controversa, já que além do parceiro internacional, Zurich Airport e da Companhia de Participações em Concessões- CCR, que arremataram o aeroporto, há também a participação da Infraero com 49% do capital social da concessionária. Essa participação da Infraero criou um modelo distinto de concessão daquele disposto pela legislação. Constata-se que no regime de concessão de aeroportos em execução no Brasil o poder público transferiu apenas parte da gestão ao ente privado, permanecendo a empresa pública, que já administrava os aeroportos, na gestão como acionista da concessionária. Esse híbrido não está previsto pela legislação, causando uma disfunção da gestão pública e privada. Também devido a essa participação, a Infraero compartilha das obrigações financeiras da concessionária, remunerando a União proporcionalmente. Como a União concede aportes financeiros anuais à Infraero cria-se algo incomum em que a União despende e arrecada seus recursos de maneira concomitante. Ainda no aspecto econômico, a cobrança do alto valor de outorga para a concessão é justificada para auxiliar o setor aeroportuário como um todo. Percebe-se que os subsídios cruzados que ocorriam na Rede Infraero permanecem, com o agravante que agora o parceiro privado da concessionária também irá investir em aeroportos deficitários de maneira indireta. Esse ponto destoa do objeto da concessão previsto pelo contrato. Conclui-se que a concessão do Aeroporto de Confins, possui diversos aspectos controversos. Novos estudos sobre a concessão de aeroportos no Brasil fazem-se necessários, não apenas no estágio de implementação, mas durante toda sua vigência, para assegurar que sua finalidade principal, a qualidade do serviço público, seja mantida. / This dissertation deals with the concession of airports in Brazil, studying mainly the transference process of management of the Tancredo Neves International Airport- Confins to the public administration for the private sector. The concession of the airports managed by Infraero was initiated in 2011, and because it is a recent fact, there are few studies about the theme. The concession of the Confins Airport started in 2013, therefore, studies about it were not found, indicating the existence of a knowledge gap which this dissertation aims to minimize. For this, it was developed a qualitative research, whereby documental research, documental analysis and an adaptation of the content analysis, allied to literature research, to elaborate a case study. The auction notice and the concession contract were the main documents studied. It is emphasized that the auction had inversion of stages, in which the habilitation documents of the winner were analyzed just after the public auction. Another point was the auction criteria of judgment, that was the greatest granting offered, is considered by some authors as harming to the tariff moderateness foreseen in the Brazilian General Law of Concessions. Still about the auction notice there was the exigency of an airport operator that had moved more than 12.5 million passengers in one of the five years before the auction. With this it was demanded the participation of an international partner in the concessionaire, with experience in managing airport with the size of Confins Airport. The partners were Zurich Airport and Munich Airport International Beteiligungs- GMBH, however the second company does not compose the Specific Purpose Society- SPE that manages the airport. Its exit was justified for the SAC/PR as a corporate rearrangement foreseen in the contract. The composition of the SPE brings another controversial question, since besides the international partner Zurich Airport and Companhia de Participações em Concessões- CCR, that won the airport concession, there is also the participation of Infraero with 49% of the social capital of the concessionaire. This partnership of Infraero created a distinct model of concession, different from that one disposed in the legislation. It is evidenced that in the current regime of airport concession in Brazil the public administration transferred just part of the management to the private sector, with the public company that already managed the airport remaining in the administration, as a shareholder of the concessionaire. This hybrid is not foreseen in the legislation, causing a dysfunction in the public and private management. Also due to this participation, Infraero shares the financial obligations of the concessionaire, paying the Union proportionality. As the Union provides annual financial resources to Infraero it is created an unusual situation, where the Union spends and raises its resources at the same time. Still in the economic aspect, the charge of a high value of granting is justified to help the airport sector as a whole. It is noticed that the crossed subsidies that used to occur in the Rede Infraero remain, with the aggravating that now the private partner of the concessionaire will also indirectly invest in the airports with deficits. This point diverges of the concession object foreseen by the contract. It is concluded that the Confins Airport concession has many controversial aspects. New studies about the concession of Brazilian airports are needed, not only in the implementation stage, but during its whole term, to ensure that its main purpose, the quality of the public service, remains.