GPPPAGlobal PPP Promotion Association

Global PPP Partner

Bringing Korea's PPP experience
to the global infrastructure market

Global PPP Promotion Association (GPPPA) is a non-profit association in Seoul that connects Korea's three decades of PPP practice with governments, companies and experts at home and abroad.

Dr. Jongho Ock, Chairman of GPPPA

Chairman's Message

Private investment is no longer an option, but an essential strategy for sustainable growth.

Welcome to the Global PPP Promotion Association. Founded in June 2018, GPPPA is a non-profit association that works to strengthen the competitiveness of Korean companies in the global PPP market.

The world's construction market is shifting quickly, from projects funded by the client to PPPs that call for private investment and operating capability. Since introducing its PPP system in 1994, Korea has built operating experience, centered on BTO and BTL, that ranks among the most extensive in the world.

With the Korean government's recent call for "an era of KRW 100 trillion in private investment over the next five years," now is the time for that experience to flourish at home and abroad. GPPPA is therefore expanding its work from supporting overseas PPP projects to include Korea's domestic PPP market. We will be a bridge for sound PPP development at home and for Korean companies entering investment-led markets overseas, through research, policy recommendations, professional training and expert networks.

We look forward to your interest and participation.

Dr. Jongho Ock
Chairman, Global PPP Promotion Association Signature of Dr. Jongho Ock

About Us

Who we are

After establishing the legal basis for private investment in infrastructure in 1994, Korea has continuously expanded its PPP program and accumulated extensive experience in both scale and quality.

Building on this, GPPPA was established in June 2018 to:

  • provide education and information on core PPP competencies to governments, companies, academia and organizations pursuing investment-type projects that involve financing, construction and operation; and
  • strengthen the global competitiveness of the PPP industry through research, policy recommendations, professional training and expert networks.

GPPPA is a registered non-profit incorporated association designated as a public-interest corporation in Korea, governed by a General Assembly and a Board of Directors, with four standing committees: Planning; Academic Affairs and Education; Domestic Business Development; and International Business Development.

GPPPA will be a committed partner in the development of the global PPP sector.

Focus Areas

What we are watching

  • PPP procurement trends

    How PPP and other public construction projects are being procured in Korea and abroad, our founding focus.

  • Rising construction disputes

    Litigation has grown to the point that Korea now speaks of a "construction dispute industry".

  • AI-driven project management

    Agentic AI is quickly changing how construction projects are designed, reviewed and managed.

  • Climate change and disasters

    Disasters are growing, while sustained public attention and industry-level responses remain limited.

What We Do

Our Programs

  • 01

    Education

    Core PPP competencies for practitioners.

    • World Bank PPP Guide
    • PPP Financial Model
    • International PPP Contract
  • 02

    Global PPP Consulting

    Step-by-step support for Korean companies pursuing overseas PPP projects.

    • Legal PPP framework of the host country
    • Project identification and PPP screening
    • Appraisal, structuring and risk analysis
    • Tendering and contract award
    • Construction, operation and hand-back
  • 03

    Knowledge Share

    Sharing global PPP information with the Accredited Training Organizations of APMG International (UK), which runs the CP3P certification supported by the World Bank Group.

  • 04

    Construction Dispute Research

    Studying legal reasoning, expert appraisal and decision-making in construction disputes, and sharing the results through our monthly seminars.

  • 05

    AI in Project Management

    Applying Agentic AI to structural review, BIM and freeform design, and cost estimation, and sharing what works.

  • 06

    Research Contracts

    Undertaking research commissioned by government, public agencies and companies, carried out mainly by our members.

Seminars

Monthly seminars in Seoul

From 2027, every third Wednesday, 16:00 – 18:00 (KST), at Gangnam TOZ Tower, Seoul. Seminars are held in Korean.

  • Members only Construction Litigation Talks (5 sessions) Non-members welcome · KRW 20,000 at the door
  • Members only Agentic AI in Practice (4 sessions) Non-members welcome · KRW 20,000 at the door
  • Open to all PPP Market Update (3 sessions)
DateSeriesTopic
20 Jan 2027 Construction Litigation Talks #1 Legal reasoning, free evaluation of evidence and the "high probability" standard
17 Feb 2027 Agentic AI in Practice #1 Agentic AI for structural review and BIM design
17 Mar 2027 Construction Litigation Talks #2 Construction expert appraisal: its role, realities and future
21 Apr 2027 PPP Market Update PPP market trends and ongoing projects
19 May 2027 Agentic AI in Practice #2 Training Agentic AI on a database of freeform buildings
16 Jun 2027 Construction Litigation Talks #3 Understanding variability and noise in decision-making
21 Jul 2027 Agentic AI in Practice #3 Freeform design with Grasshopper and AI training results
18 Aug 2027 Construction Litigation Talks #4 Probability as a tool for establishing likelihood, and its limits
15 Sept 2027 PPP Market Update PPP market trends and ongoing projects
20 Oct 2027 Agentic AI in Practice #4 Agentic AI for cost estimation, engineering review and design
17 Nov 2027 Construction Litigation Talks #5 Construction professionals and litigation: what to look at, and how
15 Dec 2027 PPP Market Update PPP market trends and ongoing projects

Recent seminars

  • No. 21 21 Oct 2026 The future of PPP led by AI and technology
  • No. 20 26 Nov 2025 PPP for educational facilities in Mongolia
  • No. 19 26 Nov 2025 Construction and airport PPP projects in Peru
  • No. 18 26 Nov 2025 PPP for aging apartment complexes in Korea
  • No. 17 24 Sept 2025 Korea's PPP market trends and GPPPA's direction
  • No. 16 24 Sept 2025 Overseas PPP activities: the CIS and the Kyrgyz Republic
  • No. 14 20 Jun 2022 Korea's PPP system and lessons for overseas PPP projects Video (Korean)

Korea's PPP System

Three decades of PPP in Korea, at a glance

  1. 1994Act on Promotion of Private Capital Investment in Social Overhead Capital: PPP introduced
  2. 1998Comprehensive revision: unsolicited (private) proposals and other reforms
  3. 2005Renamed the PPP Act for infrastructure; BTL introduced and eligible facilities expanded
  4. 2015Risk-sharing (BTO-rs) and profit-sharing (BTO-a) models introduced
  • BTOBuild-Transfer-Operate

    The private partner builds, transfers ownership to the government and recovers its investment from user fees during the operating period.

    Roads, railways, ports
  • BTLBuild-Transfer-Lease

    The private partner builds and transfers the facility; the government leases it and pays availability-style lease payments.

    Schools, military housing, sewer networks
  • BTO-rsRisk Sharing

    Government and private partner share investment and operating gains and losses at agreed ratios, sharing demand risk.

    Since 2015
  • BTO-aAdjusted

    Government guarantees minimum operating costs; returns above that level are shared.

    Since 2015
  1. 01Project identification or private proposal
  2. 02Feasibility and VfM test (PIMAC at KDI)
  3. 03Selection of preferred bidder
  4. 04Concession agreement
  5. 05Construction
  6. 06Operation, then hand-back

The Ministry of Economy and Finance oversees the PPP system and its annual plan; the Public and Private Infrastructure Investment Management Center (PIMAC) at the Korea Development Institute conducts feasibility and value-for-money tests; line ministries and local governments act as contracting authorities.

Global Network

Sharing Korea's experience

Through exchange programs with the CIS region, including the Kyrgyz Republic, GPPPA shares the collective knowledge and experience of Korean PPP with partner agencies, supports the identification of potential PPP projects and explores ways to work with multilateral development banks.

We teach and share the PPP Guide, the common body of knowledge published by five multilateral development banks led by the World Bank, and the related CP3P (Certified PPP Professional) program.

PartnersMinistry of Trade, Industry and EnergyP3KoreaPAMIRKorean Professional Engineers AssociationDaehan PE Society

Get Involved

Join or support GPPPA

  • General Member

    Annual membership fee of KRW 100,000. Access to members-only seminars and materials.

  • Lifetime Member

    A one-time donation of KRW 1,000,000 under a donation pledge. Donation receipts are issued for Korean tax purposes.

  • Corporate Member

    A one-time donation of KRW 2,000,000 or more under a donation pledge. Donation receipts are issued; no advertising or other economic benefit is given in return.

Registration is currently available in Korean only. Please email us and we will help you join or sponsor.

Contact

Get in touch

Organization
Global PPP Promotion Association (GPPPA)
Address
Unit 607, Bldg. 13, 40-36 Sinnaeyeok-ro 3-gil, Jungnang-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Nearest station
Sinnae Station (Line 6 and Gyeongchun Line), Exit 2
E-mail
[email protected]
Registration No.
545-82-00227