Partners with Florida Council for Public Private Partnerships to Present the Largest P3 Conference Held in the State of Florida to Date
Miami, FL, October 28, 2013 – P3s are the topic du jour – leading to the partnership between the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce and Florida Council for Public Private Partnerships (FCP3) that recently delivered a timely conference providing a substantive agenda with quality speakers to differentiate this conference from other similar events. It was the largest P3 conference held in the state of Florida to date.
The conference, held October 3-4 and titled “The Nuts & Bolts of P3 Projects in Florida: How to Get Started with PPP Opportunities including Unsolicited Proposals” attracted more than 225 participants, a blend of public and private entities, from cities across the state including Pensacola, Tampa, Jacksonville, Orlando, Sarasota, and Winter Park as well as from the tri-county area and Collier county.
Welcoming attendees, fcp3 President and AVP for Facilities Management with Florida International University, John Cal said, “We are ecstatic that this special collaboration between the Chamber and fcp3 resulted in the largest P3 conference with more than 225 participants. In the current environment of limited public funds, P3s offer a way to deliver capital assets in the public interest. The fcp3 aims to be the forum for subject matter expertise where people can get the information they need to figure out whether a P3 is the right delivery vehicle for their project. We can also provide the lessons learned for how to make their project work.”
The conference’s keynote speaker, Ian Rylatt, chief executive officer of Balfour Beatty Investments from the UK, provided lessons learned from 18 years of experience in P3s. During his presentation he even offered that the United States may in some ways be ahead of the UK because of the emphasis on P3 with strong public participation as opposed to a focus on just financing.
“Florida’s new public private partnership law enables the state to become a leader in financing needed public facilities and services, including roads, bridges, ports, water and sewage systems, schools, housing and other projects with private money,” said attorney Lee Weintraub, in charge of Public Private Partnerships at Becker & Poliakoff, the conference’s presenting sponsor. “By explicitly authorizing public agencies to receive and consider unsolicited proposals for qualifying projects, the new law has potential to make an enormous contribution to job creation and economic development in the State.”
Substantive presentations covered topics from the public sector, developer and financing perspectives including practical implementation of P3s, how successful projects were structured, case studies and exhibitions of P3 projects. Finance leaders from the investment community addressed what investors and lenders look for and why Florida’s P3 legislation will increase investments, jobs and capital infrastructure in Florida. The build sector offered their perspective of unsolicited proposals; while open microphone round table discussions focused on the public and private sectors, respectively, allowed attendees to share their thoughts and reflections about the conference presentations.
For additional information contact the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce at 305-350-7700 or visit www.MiamiChamber.com
About Greater Miami Chamber
The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce is the voice of business in South Florida, representing more than 400,000 employees of member companies. To carry out its mission, the Chamber involves the private sector in community leadership. For more than a century, the Chamber has been widely recognized and respected for its extraordinary record of economic development and community improvement. The Greater Miami Chamber is a proactive chamber, regularly getting engaged in issues important to its member companies and individuals. Its program of work is organized in six areas: Community Growth, Governmental Affairs, Industry Growth, International Business, Leadership Programs, and Marketing & Member Services. The Chamber is nationally recognized as one of the Top 10 Executive Speaking Forums in America.
About Florida Council for Public Private Partnerships
The fcp3 mission is to promote the development of public assets using P3 delivery methods when in the public interest. Fcp3 provides a central forum for the exchange of ideas and share research to further educate and develop relationships between the public and private sectors. Founded in 2012, fcp3’s purpose is to educate, advocate and promote research into the use of public-private partnerships for the provision of public facilities and public services in the State of Florida.