– This purpose of this paper is to evaluate the experiences of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in China's urban rail development, investigates the critical factors impacting on the project viability and derives lessons for future urban rail PPP projects in China and elsewhere.
– A case study of the Beijing Metro Line 4 project was adopted as the main research method with semi-structured interviews with senior practitioners and experienced academics as the primary data collection instrument. Qualitative data were collected and subjected to content analysis.
– The case study provides six critical factors which are required to facilitate PPP urban rail development: streamlined approval process; robust tendering; strong leadership within the public procuring authority; effective organisational structure and the private sector innovation; commensurate charging approach and government subsidising scheme; and appropriate risk allocation. The research shows that the potential to directly re-apply the Beijing Metro Line 4 model to future urban rail development is limited, but lessons for future urban rail PPPs can still be drawn from the study.
– The paper serves as an illustration to public procuring authorities and potential private investors on how to structure and manage urban rail PPPs.
– The research presents an original investigation of China’s first urban rail PPP, the Beijing Metro Line 4 project and assesses the applicability of the Beijing model to future PPP projects in urban rail development.
