Public–private partnerships (PPPs) have grown in popularity as a method to leverage private sector actors in the production of government services. With the global challenge of water insecurity, PPPs are becoming more common for large scale water infrastructure projects. One prominent example is the water desalination industry. Global desalination capacity has grown in recent decades driven by demand for alternative water sources. However, desalination facilities remain complex and expensive operations. In this paper, we examine the role of private actors working in partnership with public entities in the delivery of drinking water using the case of desalination. We examine global trends in PPPs and discuss implications for the desalination industry as well as water infrastructure more broadly. Additionally, detailed data on desalination facilities were collected in Israel, Australia, and the United States including key stakeholder interviews. Results demonstrate an increase in PPP use in the water sector over time along with significant regional variation. We also find that the public sector partners often rely on private sector partners in the design, build, and operation stages of the project regardless of the amount of public financing.

公私合作伙伴关系 (PPP) 作为一种在政府服务生产中利用私营部门参与者的方法越来越受欢迎。随着水资源不安全的全球挑战，PPP 在大型水利基础设施项目中变得越来越普遍。一个突出的例子是海水淡化行业。近几十年来，由于对替代水源的需求，全球海水淡化能力有所增长。然而，海水淡化设施的操作仍然复杂且昂贵。在本文中，我们以海水淡化为例，研究了私营部门与公共实体合作提供饮用水的作用。我们研究了 PPP 的全球趋势，并更广泛地讨论了对海水淡化行业和水利基础设施的影响。此外，在以色列、澳大利亚和美国收集了有关海水淡化设施的详细数据，包括与主要利益相关者的访谈。结果表明，随着时间的推移，水部门的 PPP 使用有所增加，并且区域差异很大。我们还发现，无论公共融资金额多少，公共部门合作伙伴在项目的设计、建造和运营阶段往往依赖私营部门合作伙伴。