The description of the project features indicates the existence of a significant level of business risks and the likelihood of occurrence of financial distress. Therefore, the projects of highway infrastructure are not sufficiently attractive to sponsors. In order to attract private capital for such projects the government should create the conditions that will allow such projects to be financially viable. In this case, the sponsors will be willing to invest their own funds in the capital of these projects. The initial investment is large, so these projects require borrowed funds in addition to sponsors' funds. Lenders and financial institutions, by examining the characteristics of a project and its risks, will require a considerable investment from sponsors to the project prior to the issuance of the borrowed funds and all sorts of support for the project by the government throughout the period of project implementation.
The government as a partner has the right and opportunity to create the conditions in which the project will be financially viable, to participate in the financing of the project in both aspects. It can guarantee a minimum income for the project and provide part of the funds as an advance for the assets that will be transferred to the government at the expiration of the PPP agreement. This and other direct or/and indirect government assistance increase the creditworthiness of the project and guarantee the repayment of the loan. These conditions make it possible to attract sponsors' and borrowers' funds and to increase the leverage in the financing structure of the project. Cuttareeand and Mandri-Perrott noted in their research that most project financing aimed to maximize gearing because debt is typically cheaper than equity. Debt-to-equity ratios of 75:25 or 70:30 have been common.
The initiator of the project is the public partner. It is the Government's responsibility to set up an appropriate financial scheme. The initiator may use two available options: Government financing and Private financing through either Corporate Finance or Project Finance . The involvement of private financing is an important element of the PPP project's life cycle approach. It enables optimization of a project's total costs. The financing costs represent an essential part of the total cost. Arguments for private financing are following its more effective detection and management of project risks and the private sector's permanent access to capital markets. Therefore, further we will consider the private funding of PPP projects.
The corporate-finance approach means that the funding for the project is provided from the investor's own balance-sheet resources. Provided it can be supported by the investor's balance sheet and earning record, a corporate-finance loan to finance a project is normally fairly simple, quick, and cheap to arrange
The term “Project Finance” refers to the financing of projects dependent on project cash flows for repayment, as defined by the contractual relationships within each project. All project contracts must fit together seamlessly to allocate risks in a manner which ensures the financial viability and success of the project . Their major differences are summarized in