Project Performance Comparison of Public–Private Partnership (P3) Highway Projects against Design Build (DB) and Design Bid Build (DBB) Highway Projects

Public–private partnerships (P3s) have gained prominence in both developed and developing nations over recent decades. P3 contracts have been used in a broad spectrum of infrastructure sectors in the United States. However, it is important to demonstrate how P3 projects compare in terms of cost and schedule to traditional project delivery methods to make more informed choices when selecting a delivery method in infrastructure construction. This research focused on benchmarking the project performances of P3 highway projects against design-build (DB) and design-bid-build (DBB) highway projects by analyzing cost growth and schedule growth for highway projects undertaken using P3, DB, and DBB project delivery. Statistical tests revealed that P3 highway projects had a mean cost growth of 2.12%, whereas DB projects experienced 8.95% growth, and DBB projects 7.27%. Furthermore, the mean schedule growth for P3 highway projects was 0.59%, compared to 37.94% for DB projects and 31.39% for DBB projects. The research results can provide valuable insights to assist decision-making processes for future projects, which can be particularly useful for government agencies, private companies, and other stakeholders involved in infrastructure development. Furthermore, the stakeholders can make more informed choices when selecting a delivery method with the identified performance comparison findings, potentially reducing the likelihood of project disputes and failures.

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