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Public-public partnerships : A twist on the traditional publicprivate partnership that works for your airport
Journal of Airport Management,
18
(4),
397-409
(2024)
Abstract
As airport operators, the provision of chilled water and back-up power generation is a necessary element of our utility infrastructure. This paper outlines the benefits and pitfalls related to outsourcing this increasingly critical infrastructure to the local power company and describes the case of Orlando International Airport (MCO), which formed a public-public partnership with Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC). Over the course of a multiyear negotiation, we engaged OUC to take on operating the chilled water plant and the back-up generation facility for the airport’s new Terminal C. Throughout the negotiation, we addressed many challenges. The aim of this paper is to familiarise the airport operator with the transaction and some of the key issues we faced and resolved at MCO.
Keywords: utility infrastructure; revenue use policy; public-public partnership; non-traditional financing; risk transfer; chilled water; back-up generation
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Kathleen M. Sharman Kathleen Sharman has more than 25 years’ senior financial leadership experience across multiple transportation modes, and public and private industries, and serves as the Executive Vice President/Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. The Aviation Authority operates and manages Orlando International Airport, the busiest airport in the state of Florida, and Orlando Executive Airport. Orlando International Airport served nearly 58 million passengers in 2023, making it among the top 10 busiest airports in the US. As CFO, Kathleen is responsible for managing a US$831m+ annual operating budget and a US$5.1bn capital programme. Prior to joining the Aviation Authority, Kathleen was (CFO) and Treasurer of the New Jersey Transit Corporation, one of the nation’s largest providers of bus, rail and light rail transit with more than 11,000 employees and an operating budget exceeding US$2bn. Her experience also includes CFO and Treasurer positions at Georgia’s State Road and Tollway Authority and the South Jersey Transportation Authority, operator of the Atlantic City Expressway and the Atlantic City International Airport. In 2021 she was named Airport Council International’s (ACI) Finance Professional of the Year (Large Airports) and was one of Orlando Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business for 2022. Kathleen is currently a member of the Board of Women in Public Finance — Florida Chapter. She served as Chair of ACI’s Finance Steering Committee for 2022 and was a member of the ACI Board Finance Committee in 2023. She also currently serves on ACI’s Finance Steering Committees and World Economics Committee. She is currently the Chair of the Audit Committee for the American Association of Airport Executives.
