Innovative approaches to the procurement of public transport infrastructure: Evidence from recent cases

Following the uprising and governmental changes of 2011, Libya's National Transitional Council in August 2012 handed over the country's direction to the newly elected General National Congress. Although faced with the pressing priorities of reestablishing national stability, a major challenge for the government is the provision of a transport infrastructure that will meet the nation's needs (Libyan General Council for Planning, 2013). It is likely that Libya's prospects for national economic prosper ity will be seriously undermined due to its poor transport infrastructure. In fact, the inadequacy of the existing road network predates the recent conflict, and recent examination of road construction procurement and management suggests that the country's approach to developing its transport infrastructure have, to-date, been less than successful. As with many developing economies non-technical issues such as management, planning and financing are the major barriers to the efficient and effective provision of transpor t infrastructure (see, for example, World Bank, 1988, 1994). The research presented in this paper relates to an examination of the means and methods of approaching these problems in Libya. In particular, procedures and practices in the ministries responsible for road infrastructure are examined. An in-depth investigation has been made into the Libyan planning and legislative context, in order to construct a normative framework for the future design of appropriate procurement arrangements. The ultimate aim of the wor k is to establish a set of criteria that would be at once beneficial for national development and attractive to the infrastructure providers themselves.