The purpose of the investment summit was to educate the private and public sectors about the legal, financial and operational issues surrounding PPP projects and to illustrate the complexities of these kinds of projects. The summit also facilitated networking by providing participants with an opportunity to discuss the difficulties and challenges surrounding PPP contracts and to share solutions.

The 2011 PPP Investment Summit was attended by leading multinationals such as HSBC and Ernst & Young as well as regional players such as ACWA Power of Saudi Arabia and the Partnership Technical Bureau of Kuwait. Notable attendees included Rania Zayad, an advisor to the director of the Public Private Partnership Central Unit in the Ministry of Finance in Egypt, and Abdullah Al-Haddad, vice-president of and former director of the PPP Unit in Kuwait Finance House.

That Kharafi National was the platinum sponsor of the 2011 PPP Investment Summit was entirely appropriate. KN was heavily involved in the joint venture that built the Sulaibiya wastewater treatment and reclamation plant in Kuwait in 2005 under a 30 year BOT contract. Sulaibiya WWT&RP was the first major infrastructure-related PPP in Kuwait and KN is currently operating and maintaining the plant.

He emphasised the need to establish an optimum deal structure that balances the expectations of all the stakeholders and results in a win/win structure.