Channel deepening or waterway dredging infrastructure projects make excellent candidates for the P3 procurement model, at least in theory. They are capital intensive during the deepening project but also require long-term maintenance. There is the potential for long-term risk transfer and clear performance-based specifications.
The projects also entail significant maintenance risks due to variations in the rate of sediment, which could be transferred to a private partner. Finally, with increasingly stringent environmental regulations of dredged materials, there will be more opportunities for P3s to take advantage of beneficial reuse for wetland redevelopment and other projects.
