On May 24, the X annual scientific conference "PPP in the field of transport: models and experience" was held at GSOM SPbU. Traditionally, the event brought together representatives of the academic environment, business, professional and banking communities to discuss the prospects for the development of public-private partnership in Russia.

The anniversary conference was opened by Maxim Sokolov, President of AVTOVAZ JSC, who as head of the Department of GSOM GSOM St. Petersburg State University ten years ago initiated the creation of the PPP Research Center and the conference.

One of the main topics of the conference in 2024 was changes in legislation regulating this area.

Svetlana Maslova, PhD, Director of the GSOM SPbU PPP Research Center and 3rd year students of the GSOM SPbU program "Public Administration" jointly presented a detailed overview of key legislative initiatives and prospects for their application to increase the number of PPP projects and the quality of their preparation. According to the conference participants, most of the innovations improve PPP mechanisms and increase their investment attractiveness for investors.

 

 "Legislative changes, which took about 6 years to prepare, introduced legal mechanisms that have long been expected by the PPP market. Among the key changes: clear and detailed regulation of such forms of financial participation of the grantor as capital grant, the payment of the grantor, the MRG, as well as the introduction of the institution of special circumstances to fix the agreements of the partners on the distribution of risks and their management, — Svetlana Maslova emphasized in her speech. — The most important thing for the development of the PPP market is the transfer of competitive procedures to an electronic format, as well as resolving the issue of reimbursing the initiator of a private concession initiative for the costs of its preparation if the concession agreement is not concluded with him. At the same time, not all changes are "innovative", since many of them simply solve long-overdue problems of the PPP market, fill in legal gaps and eliminate conflicts (the Bashkir case, etc.). Now it is extremely important to analyze the law, understand the intention of the legislator in order to apply it most correctly and effectively."

The program of the breakout sessions of the conference included reports on the development of sustainable and high-quality transport infrastructure based on concessions, strengthening the positive impact of transport and other infrastructure on achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and national economic growth.

Egor Starshov, a graduate student, assistant at the Department of Public Administration at GSOM SPbU, presented an analysis of the model of the organization of the passenger transportation system "From the classic minibus to the Chizhik tram." According to him, since 2016, concessions for the reconstruction and operation of the tram network have been implemented in various cities of Russia, which are becoming iconic image projects and make public transport modern and comfortable.

"In 2015, Federal Law No. 220-FL was adopted, regulating the relationship between the regulator and operators of urban passenger transportation. The main result was the spread of the gross contract model, when the operator receives money from the city for his work and does not depend on the number of passengers. The transition to a new model has led to the renewal of rolling stock, the reorganization of the route network, and improved safety and quality of urban passenger transportation. Along with this, the presented models of transportation organization have problems," said Egor Starshov. — Thus, gross contracts raise the thresholds for entering the urban passenger transportation market, reduce incentives for operators to attract passengers. The transfer of not the entire network to the concessionaire, but only part of it, leads to the problem of "disconnection" of routes, as it happens in St. Petersburg at the junction of the Chizhik tram networks and the State Unitary Enterprise Gorelektrotrans. However, in general, it can be concluded that gross contracts and the use of the PPP mechanism lead to an improvement in the quality of transport services and make public transport a more convenient, attractive and safe means of transportation in cities."

Within the X conference, the topic of the accepted reports was significantly expanded by discussing various methods of creating infrastructure in the sectors of the national economy.

A significant place in the program was occupied by reports on the application of life cycle contracts, the use of digital technologies in PPP projects, the implementation of infrastructure projects in the field of healthcare and solid municipal waste management. Traditionally, according to the results of the conference, an electronic collection of abstracts of the reports of its participants will be published, which will be indexed in the RSCI.

The conference was held in a hybrid format with the participation of 39 experts, including 13 who connected remotely. The conference ended with a trip to the construction site of the Vitebsk interchange of the WHSD (the first stage of the High-speed Latitudinal Highway), organized by the technical customer of the project LLC "START" (VTB Infrastructure Holding). The tour for the conference participants was prepared and conducted by project director Evgeny Makarov and Anna Chechel, an employee of the company's press service.

The next XI conference will be held on May 23, 2025 under the new name "Public-private partnership: models and experience".