November 12, 2024
At the first joint meeting on public-private partnerships in the water sector held in Nagano City on the 11th between the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, general contractors and other parties actively promoted their technical capabilities and proposed menus to solve the problem. A matching event was held with the participation of about 30 local governments and about 70 private companies promoting their achievements in PFI projects such as concessions (rights to operate public facilities) and DX initiatives. A representative of the general contractor emphasized the results achieved, saying, "We were able to achieve a win-win situation."
After transferring water management authority to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, both ministries have organized a “Council for Promoting Public-Private Partnerships in Water Supply” and a “Promotion Study Group”. New PFI/PPP projects in the drainage sector.’’ This is the first joint event to be held and aims to be “a gathering place for the public and private sectors in the water supply, industrial water and drainage sectors” (according to an executive director of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Water Management and Land Conservation Bureau of the Ministry of Transport and Tourism), and will also include an on-site networking event between local governments and implementing companies. The lectures were streamed online.
The local event was attended by general contractors, construction consultants, engineering firms, and others. Information was shared on Water PPP, which entrusts the maintenance, repair, and renovation of water supply and wastewater treatment facilities to the private sector. Interests included Nagano Prefecture and several local governments in the prefecture that are considering implementation, Sendai City, which is considering implementation through a feasibility study, Tottori Prefecture, which is planning to conduct a similar study, and Mizunami City, Gifu Prefecture, which is considering large-scale collaboration. Information was provided on topics such as issues and methods of collaboration.
The general contractors are Ando Hazama, Obayashi Corporation, Okumura Corporation, Kajima Corporation and Maeda Corporation and have prepared documents related to their track record in design, construction and operation, budget allocation and construction cost assurance as well as the group's technology and service capabilities. . They exchanged opinions and shared issues with local government officials.
Both water supply and wastewater systems are facing a decline in water supply and treatment volumes due to a declining population, making it difficult to secure revenue from fees, and about 22% of water pipes have exceeded their legal life. Earthquake resistance is also becoming a major issue. The investment required to replace industrial water averages about 50 billion yen per year, and is expected to increase to about 100 billion yen by fiscal 2050.
A general contractor spoke of the importance of pursuing PPPs in the water sector as “indispensable infrastructure” and expressed his hopes for the project: “This is a project that provides solutions to local government problems.” He also expressed gratitude for the event, saying: ``We can decide the direction of technology development.''
Another general contractor representative said: ``There are areas, business areas that are difficult targets for orders (in the form of PPP), but our mission is to provide solutions for local governments. We will respond from a long-term perspective.''
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