Public Private Partnership for Overseas Expansion: A survey of Municipal Water Services in Japan

Abstract

With rapid economic growth and urbanization, some Asian cities have faced urban environment problems such as strong demand for sanitary water and sewerage. Until the 1990s, municipal water services contributed internationally by accepting technical trainees and dispatching experts to developing cities. With national governmental support, major city municipal water services in Japan have aimed to expand their business abroad for regional economic development. We examined four cases of urban municipal water services that are expanding overseas, including Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, and Kitakyusyu, which developed public-private platforms for expanding abroad. These consortiums comprise dozens of water facilities and maintenance companies, and some municipal water services have created special purpose companies to attract business opportunities from foreign governments or water authorities. These organizations provide information overseas to participating companies, and they dispatch research missions to partnership cities across Asia. Efforts regarding overseas expansion of these municipal water services have led to the reform of public organizations. For more efficient delivery, one municipal water service converted its operation department into a corporation and delegated operational tasks from the public to the corporation. Keywords—Public Services, Water Services