In recent years, most governments have been eager to use private investment to reduce infrastructure gaps. However, there are still many constraints in facilitating private participation in infrastructure. One of the biggest challenges is the difficulties that many countries have in understanding the nuances of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), especially when they involve foreign investments in infrastructure. In this context, the publication of Public-Private Partnerships for Infrastructure, Principles of Policy and Finance, Second Edition is great news. E.R. Yescombe, an acknowledged international PPP expert, published the first edition of this book in 2007. Since then, Mr. Yescombe s textbook has been a major source of information for PPP policymakers, researchers, practitioners and investors all over the world. This new edition, published in June of this year, was co-authored by Mr. Yescombe and Edward Farquharson, an adviser to the European PPP Expertise Centre, who is also a leading international PPP scholar. The new book provides a rich and deep explanation of PPP issues. It covers the important topics of PPP policy, legal and institutional frameworks, project preparation, procurement, risk allocation and financing, and contains various special features which distinguish it from other publications on the subject. First, the book vividly reflects the actual experiences and wisdom of the authors. For example, after outlining the procedures of PPP project implementation, the authors highlight the importance of thorough early stage preparation, saying Experience shows that the more thoroughly the earlier phases are carried out, the less risk there will be of the contracting authority procuring the wrong project, or of procuring it in the wrong way . The sentence impresses me deeply because it captures a key lesson for government PPP practitioners. In addition, the authors deal with important public sector governance issues in Chapter 6, such as why PPP projects are not well managed in many cases, why PPP expertise is not accumulated, and why public officials are overly dependent on external experts. They explain these issues from a practical point of view, based on real-world experiences and suggest realistic policy alternatives. Second, this book provides a balanced description of both public and private sector perspectives on PPP. Existing PPP books have tended to concentrate on either the public sector s perspective or the private sector s, so it
