Dispute resolution in public private partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects in Nigeria: literature review

Abstract

Over the past decade, Public Private Partnership (PPP) Policy has increasingly been adopted by governments over the World and the Nigerian Government is no exception. This can be attributed to the fact that the era of government singlehandedly providing infrastructural facilities are long gone. The governments all over the world in this new dispensation now cooperate with the private sectors in the provision and management of various infrastructural facilities in their respective countries. Nigeria has also embraced the Public Private Partnerships (PPP) initiative as a means of addressing the huge infrastructure deficits and challenges. But PPP contracts are long-term, projects tend to be complex in their scope with multiple stakeholders involved and contract documents are complex and subject to interpretation Therefore, unlike the case under traditional procurement system, the proclivity for disputes arising in PPP projects is now very high. In light of this, this paper aims to review existing literature on dispute resolution methods in PPP infrastructure projects in Nigeria. This study adopts the systematic review process as a methodological approach. A total of 100 articles from 20 construction-related journals were identified and reviewed. Among these, only 25 articles focused on dispute resolution in PPP infrastructure projects in Nigeria which were then analysed, synthesised, and summarised. The study found from literature review that dispute resolution methods adopted in PPP contracts relate to binding and non-binding methods i.e. Mediation or conciliation, Negotiation, Dispute Resolution Board (DRB), Expert Determination, Arbitration and Litigation. On the other hand, from redacted PPP contract documents in Nigeria, the different dispute resolution methods identified were mutual consultation, mediation and arbitration, which are more of alternative dispute resolution (ADR).

The study highlights the actual state of research into construction dispute resolution methods in PPP infrastructure projects in Nigeria.