Problems of implementation of public-private partnership investment projects in the housing and communal services sector

Abstract

Public-private partnership in the Russian Federation is one of the main tools for attracting extra-budgetary investments in the housing and communal services sector, which is characterized by a significant proportion of worn-out fixed assets requiring replacement. The paper considers the current state of the industry, as well as analyzes the stages and distinctive features of the development of the public utilities system. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the regulatory and financial and economic features of the implementation of investment projects at the regional and local levels in the field of housing and communal services, as well as the role of public authorities in their regulation. The purpose of the study is to identify shortcomings, as well as to develop proposals for the modernization of the existing legal framework to attract additional extra-budgetary investments in this industry. In the course of the research, both general scientific and private scientific methods of scientific cognition were used: dialectical, formal-logical, formal-legal, comparative-legal. According to the results of the study, the main problems of project implementation are the low profitability of projects in the housing and communal services sector due to the sectoral features of tariff regulation in Russia, the low capital intensity of individual projects, the growing accounts payable of utility companies, as well as gaps in legal regulation. Proposals have been made regarding amendments to regulatory legal acts regulating this area aimed at increasing the investment attractiveness of housing and communal services projects implemented within the framework of PPP. Measures are proposed to simplify the access of Russian private companies to the market of investment projects in this area, as well as mechanisms to accelerate the renewal of worn-out fixed assets and the implementation of new projects in housing and communal services. The methods proposed in the study to improve the legal framework can be useful to both federal executive authorities, regulators of the housing and communal services industry, as well as regional and local authorities, as well as private companies as direct participants in the implementation of projects, which ultimately will provide the population with a higher quality of services received.