On 31 January and 1 February 2011, in the excellent facilities of the InterContinental Hotel in Warsaw, took place the conference CEE Investment and PPP 2011.

Thank you to all speakers, panelists and delegates who took part. A special thanks goes out to sponsors CMS, Deloitte and Bulboaca& Asociatii, and also the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure and Ministry of Regional Development.

This year's event brought together over 90 leading PPP experts; government officials, construction firms, legal and financial advisors, project management consultants, investment and private banks, from all across Europe.

The event promoted heated debate surrounding the Bankability and investment potential of PPP. With detailed review of Infrastructure, WasteManagement and Municipal projects. Emphasis was placed on understanding how to harmonize PPP project management with political cycles and changes in legislation, as well as a regional analysis of Hungary, Slovakia,Czech Republic, Poland and Ukraine.

Chaired by Mr. Bartosz Mysiorski (Centrum PPP) and opened by Ms Irena Herbst (President of Centrum PPP), the event moved swiftly onto an overview of the PPP market in CEE from Mr. Radoslaw Czapski (The World Bank). Setting the tone, a panel discussion on the Bankability of PPP was next, with strong contributions from Mr. Marcel Babczynski (Erste Group), Mr. Krzysztof Siwek (Ministry of Regional Development, Poland) and Mr. Daumantas Lapinskas (Ministry of Economics, Lithuania). Mr. Daniel Giblin (ECHarris) promoted the view that financial close can be achieved through wellresearched and presented proposals.

Mr. Radoslaw Stepien (Ministry of Infrastructure) provided a provoking presentation on planned projects in Poland, continuing the discussion through to the Infrastructure Panel, which highlighted the opportunities available in CEE, with specialist contribution from Ms Ivana Duarte (EBRD), Ms Marzena Rytel(PWC) and Mr. Martin Schlor (Porr).

Romanian PPP legislation was discussed by Mr. Cosmin Stavaru (Bulboaca& Asociatii), followed by an alternative funding mechanism for environmental projects by First Climate, closing the morning session with an excellent presentation on municipal projects by Mr. Kevin Hanlon (LocalPartnerships).

Mr. Tony Bonnici (UNECE), Mr. Andrew Kozlowski (CMS), Ms Irina Zapatrina(Ukrainian PPP Centre) and Mr. Witold Grzybowski (Collect Consulting) joined panelists in debating the importance of political will in PPPs, and the need for effective PPP budgeting. Culminating in an excellent debate on the future role of competence centres in promoting PPP, with a notable contribution from Mr. Jan Dziekanski (BGK).

Offering a country analysis of PPP, day 2 reviewed the potential of the Czech, Slovakian and Ukrainian markets, as well as a discussion of the Hungarian market and wider opportunities in central and southeast Europe. Mr. Krzysztof Siwek (Ministry of Regional Development) then provided a detailed insight into the Polish PPP sector, highlighting specific opportunities in Waste Management and Parking.