Exploring Determinants of Value for Money and Bundling Effects on Public–Private Partnership Projects: A Data-driven Empirical Study

Authors

• Gaurav Khadka, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

First Advisor

Yunping Liang

Committee Members

Chun-Hsing Ho, Kyungki Kim

Date of this Version

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Citation

A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science

Major: Construction Engineering and Management

Under the supervision of Professor Yunping Liang

Lincoln, Nebraska, May 2026

Comments

Copyright 2026, Gaurav Khadka. Used by permission

Abstract

Public–private partnerships (P3s) are widely used to deliver public infrastructure, yet current understanding of what drives variation in Value for Money (VfM) and the effectiveness of project delivery strategies such as bundling remains largely conceptual and grounded in perception-based evidence. Consequently, governments lack empirically validated guidance on which project, financial, and macroeconomic conditions meaningfully influence VfM outcomes and whether bundling improves project performance within the P3 context. This study addresses these gaps through an integrated analysis of 180 Canadian P3 infrastructure projects (1992–2020), one of the most comprehensive datasets of realized VfM internationally, incorporating project characteristics, financial arrangements, and macroeconomic indicators measured at financial close. After screening outliers and multicollinearity, a Generalized Least Squares (GLS) model was estimated to correct heteroskedasticity arising from jurisdictional differences, while one-way ANOVA and non-parametric tests were employed to examine whether bundling significantly affects agreement cost, procurement time, VfM, and secured private investment. The results reveal eight attributes that significantly explain VfM variation: jurisdiction, government level, contract type, infrastructure sector, development type, procurement bundling, agreement cost, and the Building Construction Price Index (BCPI). BCPI emerges as the sole macroeconomic determinant, indicating that construction specific inflationary conditions exert greater influence on VfM than broad economic indicators, while private financing share, procurement duration, construction site count, population change, interest rates, and tax rates show no statistically significant effects. Beyond empirically testing qualitative claims in the literature, the study advances theory by uncovering granular patterns, including provincial level advantages, the detrimental impact of mixed development sites, the superiority of construction-sector metrics over general macroeconomic measures, and direct value gains from bundling when evaluated within a multivariate framework. Results further reveal that bundling significantly reduces procurement time and slightly enhances the reliability of private financing acquisition, while no statistical evidence was found that bundling significantly impacts agreement cost or VfM in univariate group comparisons. These findings address gaps identified in the existing literature, highlighting bundling’s potential to improve P3 delivery without increasing costs. Together, these findings provide empirical evidence on how P3 outcomes are shaped, clarifying both what drives VfM and how bundling influences project performance in practice.

Advisor: Yunping Liang