On November 20, 2020, the Graduate School of Management of St. Petersburg State University (GSOM SPbU) hosted the VI Annual Scientific Conference on "Public-Private Partnership in Transport: Models and Experience". The experts discussed the theoretical and legal problems of implementing projects in the field of PPP.

 

Maxim Sokolov, Vice Governor of St. Petersburg, Head of the Department of State and Municipal Management at GSOM SPbU, noted that, despite tough times, St. Petersburg official's continue to attract private investment to the city's economy. “Just the other day, we signed an agreement on the implementation of an important and large-scale project - the construction of a traffic intersection with Vitebsky Avenue and a prospective connection to the Latitude Highway of high-speed traffic. This is a landmark project for the city, which can be compared in importance with the project to create the Western High-Speed ​​Diameter,” said Maxim Sokolov.

 

He also talked about the experience of implementing such large PPP projects as the construction of Pulkovo airport and the creation of the first public transport project in the field of infrastructure, known to residents as the Chizhik tram.

 

“St. Petersburg has been holding a confident leadership in the field of PPP in the field of transport for more than 15 years. We expect the construction of a high-speed railway, the main section of which will also be built on the basis of a public-private partnership. Such projects are important for the city. The PPP mechanism makes it possible to save budget funds, attract the most modern technologies, accelerate the creation of such a complex and necessary infrastructure for the city's transport development. Today in St. Petersburg at all levels a professional team has been created that implements PPP projects not only in the field of transport, but also in the field of medicine, development of territories and sports facilities. In turn, the Graduate School of Management of St. Petersburg State University is a forge of specialists in the field of PPP not only for St. Petersburg, but for the entire North-West Federal District,” told the Vice Governor to the conference participants.

 

The conference participants discussed public-private partnership in conjunction with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the national development goals of Russia.

 

“We focus not only on the investment opportunities of PPPs to build up transport infrastructure, but also on the potential for achieving results in the social and environmental spheres. Of great interest are theoretical and practical approaches to improving legal regulation, competitive procedures, dispute resolution, as well as PPP in the digital economy and the regional practice of implementing transport projects, ” said the Head of the Center for Public-Private Partnership Research, Associate Professor of the Department of Public and Municipal Management at GSOM SPbU Svetlana Maslova.

 

The organizer of the conference, the Center for Public-Private Partnership Research of GSOM SPbU, is engaged in the creation and dissemination of knowledge on the organization and effective management of PPP projects. The conference is a platform for discussing current problems of PPP in the field of transport, exchanging views of leading Russian experts, representatives of government authorities, the academic environment and novice specialists — Bachelor and Master students of St. Petersburg State University and other Russian universities.