OBJECTIVES : Saudi Arabia launched the Saudi National Transformation Program (NTP) 2020 in 2016 to reform its economy and reduce over-reliance on oil revenue in financing public services. The government is considering increasing the role of the private sector’s participation in financing and delivering healthcare services through the adoption of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). However, the adoption and implementation of PPPs in the Saudi healthcare sector requires careful attention to overcome potential obstacles that might affect their successful implementation. Therefore, this study investigated and identified the barriers for the successful implementation of PPPs in the Saudi healthcare sector.

METHODS : The study used a pre-tested questionnaire survey to investigate the barriers to PPPs in the Saudi Healthcare sector. The target respondents included different stakeholders from both the public and private sectors. Respondents were asked to rate their degree of agreement against potential key barriers using a five-point Likert scale. The data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

RESULTS : This study recognised and categorised the barriers to PPP implementation into six barriers. These were social, legal, economic, environmental, political, and technological barriers. The evidence showed that the top three barriers rated by the respondents were legal, environmental, and technological barriers. The results suggested that government should undertake PPPs within an overall PPPs policy which leads to well-defined goals. Moreover, government should rely on mature-economies professionals’ expertise and skills to develop and structure PPPs.

CONCLUSIONS : The study identified the barriers that may influence the successful implementation of PPPs in the Saudi healthcare sector. It is recommended that all the stakeholders involved in the health PPPs should recognise the identified barriers in this research and develop more strategies to eliminate them. This will allow the partnerships to function effectively and ensure the successful implementation of PPPs in Saudi Arabia.