Leighton Holdings’
(ASX:LEI) deputy chief Bill Wild says that the existing model for private-public partnerships on toll roads is “dead” partly due to higher costs for motorists.
Mr Wild says PPPs are no longer attractive for the private sector because it bears the majority of risk in comparison to governments in the building and operation of major assets.
Investors in PPP toll roads have suffered losses with big write downs on projects where traffic forecasts were overly bullish and debt levels too high.
However Mr Wild says he doesn’t believe the private sector should look for reimbursement from high bidding costs.
The government has called for more consistency and transparency to lower the costs associated with private-public partnerships.
Leighton Holding’s 2009 net profit was $440 million, which is down from the $607million result the financial year before.
