Testing the Waters--A Phased Approach to a Water Concession in Trinidad and Tobago
Author: Helen Nankani Date: 1/1/1997 (PDF, 200KB)
The government of Trinidad and Tobago has adopted a two-phase approach to privatizing its water services, first awarding a management contract through competitive bidding and then, after three to five years, converting it through negotiation to a long-term concession. With the management contract in place less than a year, it is too early to draw firm lessons about the strategy. But Helen Nankani argues that the two-phase strategy is an attractive one for a small country with limited regulatory capacity and poor information on the state of the business. The preconcession agreement gives the government the time to gather information, create a regulatory regime, and establish a relationship of trust with a private operator--while simultaneously delivering better service under private sector management