IRF holds inaugural public-private partnerships proficiency training course

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The International Road Federation (IRF) recently held the inaugural training session for its public-private partnerships proficiency credentials program, which introduces road and development professionals to the fundamentals and applications of public-private partnerships.

IRF’s five-day proficiency course was held at the Global Training Institute in Alexandria, Virginia. Road and development professionals who complete the course earn accreditation and are able to apply for public-private partnerships professional certification (CP3P) with global examination institute AMPG.

“PPPs are complicated transactions which require that governments give sufficient time to identifying, screening, appraising and preparing the projects,” IRF Vice President Magid Elabyad said. “In turn, they require significant expertise which in turn requires governments to utilize experienced advisors. Road professionals certified under the CP3P program can showcase to their peers and clients that their skills are aligned with international best practice.”

The training program included instruction from Eric Cook of Manchester Consulting; Shirley Ybarra, the former secretary of transportation at the Virginia Department of Transportation; Amita Poole, the CEO of IIPL USA; and Nikhil Bhandari, the principal at Rock Creek Analytics.

Course material covered financial appraisal and traffic modeling tools, optimal organizational models and oversight mechanisms.

The CP3P program is recognized by the World Bank Group, the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank.