Traditionally, the criteria used to measure project success in the constriction industry are “the iron triangle” of time, cost and quality. These criteria are no longer sufficient as other factors related to project sustainability are being demanded. Sustainable procurement policies require that projects provide social and economic gains to host communities. Construction works procured using public private partnership arrangement (PPPs) are more risk prone than those procured using other forms, primarily due to the lengthy concession period and the multi-parties involved in the arrangement. In Nigerian, researches on the assessment of the performance of projects procured using PPP are few due to the novelty of the approach. Many projects are still at pre-construction and construction stages whilst few are at the operation stage.

Markets are very important to sustainable economic development in emerging economies. This paper addresses the factors that can impact the outcome of a privately financed market project based on data gathered through several approaches: interviews with stakeholders, questionnaire survey, review of project documents and direct observations on a privately financed market. The study reveals that understanding and adequate management of economic, construction, cultural and political risks have much effect on cost, time, quality and financial performance of the market. Thus, adequate consideration should be given to the aforementioned risks factors at the inception of such projects to forestall poor performance. Only then can a market development project meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.