Barbados

Barbados has begun moving away from a largely case-by-case approach to PPPs. The Public Procurement Act of 2021 provides a legal basis for PPP procurement, but detailed implementation guidance has been lacking.² In May 2025, the Cabinet endorsed a draft PPP framework prepared by the Ministry of Finance to guide government decision-making while formal regulations and guidelines are developed.³ The framework sets out principles and institutional arrangements for PPPs under consideration, but is not yet a publicly codified regulatory framework. Barbados lacks a dedicated PPP unit, although government bodies within the Ministry of Finance have assumed PPP oversight roles.

Barbados’s PPP market remains nascent, with no projects reaching financial close in 2016-25, although several initiatives have advanced. Most notably, the government launched a competitive tender in November 2025 for the 30-50 MW Lamberts and Castle Wind Project, with three bidders prequalified in April 2026 to develop, finance, construct, operate and maintain the project.^4,5 Meanwhile, negotiations over a concession for Grantley Adams International Airport remained ongoing, with the draft concession agreement still under review as of its latest published financial statements.⁶

Political support has provided a favorable backdrop for PPP development in Barbados. The current administration has continued to promote private participation in infrastructure, including through efforts to develop a more structured PPP framework and advance projects in transport and renewable energy. The government has also worked with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other development partners to strengthen public investment management, with the 2025 draft PPP framework a part of its IMF-supported reform program.⁷ PPP support has extended across the two major parties: both the governing Barbados Labour Party and opposition Democratic Labour Party supported forms of public-private collaboration in their 2022 election platforms.^8,9

Barbados’s relative strengths lie mainly in the broader enabling environment rather than demonstrated PPP capabilities. Financing is its highest-ranked category, at 18th, supported by relatively strong capital portability, financial-market maturity and use of sustainable-finance instruments. Barbados also performs well on financial auditing and reporting standards and benefits from comparatively favorable broader institutional and country-risk conditions. These conditions could support future private infrastructure investment, but they contrast with limited evidence of PPP-specific institutional capacity or experience financing completed projects.

Barbados still lacks a fully formalized PPP regulatory and institutional framework, including publicly codified guidance and a dedicated PPP unit. Significant gaps also persist across the project lifecycle. Project preparation and sustainability scores just 18.5 out of 100, reflecting limited socioeconomic assessment, PPP prioritization, and environmental and social requirements. Contract-management provisions and national PPP monitoring and reporting guidelines are weak, while formal ex-post evaluation remains largely absent. Together, these gaps constrain Barbados’s ability to translate political support and an improving enabling environment into a functioning PPP program.

Barbados has taken several steps toward a more structured approach to PPP development. The 2024 publication of Barbados 2035 established long-term infrastructure priorities and investment needs, addressing a previous gap in strategic planning. Institutional arrangements are also evolving: the Cabinet-endorsed draft PPP framework provides greater structure for decision-making, while a PPP Committee within the Ministry of Finance now reviews project concepts and feasibility studies. Together, these measures provide a clearer foundation for identifying and developing potential PPPs.