Assessment of Public Private Partnership (PPP) Opportunities in El Paso-Juarez

Budget cuts have negatively affected federal funding for transportation projects and other initiatives nationwide. On the southern U.S. border, this resulted in the reduction of government financial commitments to build new cross-border facilities and hire additional staff, causing increased border wait times. To address the dearth of federal financial support, the U.S. Congress has authorized Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to enter into several public-private partnerships (PPPs) with state, local, and private-sector entities to gain money, technology, information, and data. For the southern border, private companies may offer direct financial support for new or improved services at ports of entry, including additional staff and infrastructure enhancements. This research looked into current PPPs formed in the El Paso-Juarez border crossing corridor to determine whether it would be good public policy for the Texas A&M Transportation Institute and CBP to enter into a PPP with a private company. Although the researchers were unable to complete the PPP assessment or build additional choice models within the project timeframe, they did manage to open doors for future partnerships with both the public and private sectors.