I. Introduction
Infrastructure (e.g., transportation, power, telecommunications and environmental) requirements are growing rapidly, both domestically and internationally, and in both developed and developing countries, far outpacing the public and other traditional sources of financing available for these requirements. A considerable "funding gap" has either already arisen or is widely predicted. This has led to the exploration and development of private sector alternatives to traditional public financing sources and has created a new lexicon of "public-private partnerships" and "infrastructure privatization" for these activities.
According to the World Bank, developing countries currently spend about $200 billion a year on infrastructure development. 1 Although primarily financed by governments to date, this level of government spending places an enormous burden on public finances and is probably unsustainable over the long run, especially in Asia where infrastructure investment
