Barriers to public private partnership projects in developing countries : a case of Nigeria

Purpose – Studies on barriers to public private partnerships (PPPs) in Nigeria, especially those that are empirical, remain rare. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to identify and classify barriers to PPP projects implementation in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach – Primary data were collected through the administration of questionnaires to public sector authorities, concessionaires, local lenders, consultants, and contractors already involved in PPP projects. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics, mean score, Kruskal-Wallis test, and factor analysis. Findings – The study identified 58 barriers and the analysis of the total ranking among stakeholders revealed that all the identified barriers were considered as serious barriers influencing PPP projects in Nigeria. The result of Kruskal-Wallis test indicated that except for 18 (out of 58) identified barriers, there was no statistical significant difference in stakeholders ’ perceptions on barriers to PPPs project implementation in Nigeria. The study through factor analysis grouped the identified 58 barriers into ten principal factors with their components. Practical implications – This study provides an in-depth understanding on Nigeria ’ s PPP market environment current context in terms of prevalent barriers influencing PPPs project. This would be beneficial to PPP stakeholders in decision making and planning towards PPP projects implementation. Originality/value – The findings would be valuable in assisting all stakeholders, particularly potential local, and foreign private investors to recognise major barriers in the implementation of PPP projects in Nigeria and thus helping them to develop strategies for penetrating Nigeria and developing countries PPP market successfully. This study results are crucial as not many empirical studies have been conducted in Nigeria.