Svaka država, bila ona smatrana razvijenom ili nerazvijenom, mora ili teži imati kvalitetnu infratstrukturu, koja je temelj različitih oblika djelatnosti te istovremeno preduvjet za daljnji razvoj. Infrastrukturni su projekti, uz najčešće dulje trajanje provedbe, i vrlo skupi te je potrebno pronaći odgovarajući način financiranja svakog specifičnog projekta. Današnje tržišno gospodarstvo, pa tako i Republiku Hrvatsku, karakterizira korištenje tri modela financiranja izgradnje, održavanja i korištenja infrastrukture, a to su: javno financiranje, privatno financiranje i mješovito financiranje (javno - privatno partnerstvo). Pri upotrebi mješovitog financiranja (JPP) koristi se tehnika projektnog financiranja čija je temeljno obilježje da se razvoj projekta većinski financira zajmom, čija se otplata očekuje od prihoda koje će projekt ostvariti, dok se imovina projekta koristi za osiguranje otplate. Ovaj model financiranja izgradnje, održavanja i korištenja infrastructure najčešće se provodi u kapitalno intenzivnim gospodarskim djelatnostima u kojima ulagači često nisu kreditno sposobni za tradicionalne oblike financiranja ili s druge strane, nisu spremni preuzeti sve vrste pripadajućih rizika. Projektno financiranje tako igra važnu ulogu u izgradnji novih te obnovi postojećih infrastrukturnih objekata ili sustava, pri čemu se se odnosi između jedinice vlasti i projektnog društva definiraju ugovorom o koncesiji koji određuje temeljna prava i obveze dviju strana uključenih u projekt. Projektno društvo, u zamjenu za dogovorenu naknadu, ima pravo obavljati djelatnost na određeno vrijeme. Navedeni oblici financiranja i njihove specifičnosti podrobnije su opisani kroz nedavne primjere u Republici Hrvatskoj.

Every country, considered developed or undeveloped, has or strives to have a quality infrastructure that is the foundation of many different activities and at the same time, a prerequisite for further development. Infrastructural project take a long time to be conducted and are generally expensive. Therefore, it is necessary to find a suitable way of financing every specific project. Today’s market economy, including the Republic of Croatia, is characterized by three models of financing the construction, maintenance and exploitation of infrastructure: public (government) funding, private financing and mixed financing (public - private partnership). The application of mixed financing (PPP) uses the technique of project financing, whose basic feature is to develop the project mainly financed through a loan, whose repayment is expected from the income generated by the project, while the project assets are present to secure the repayment. This model of financing the construction, maintenance and exploitation of infrastructure is commonly used in capital - intensive sectors where investors are not creditworthy for traditional financing methods or not ready to take on all kinds of related risks. In this way, project financing plays an important role in the construction or reconstruction of infrastructure facilities and systems, where the relationship between government units and the project company is defined in the concession agreement that determines the rights and obligations of the two parties involved. The project company, in exchange for an agreed fee, has a right to carry out activities for a limited amount of time. These mentioned models of financing and their specific features are described in more detail through the recent examples in the Republic of Croatia.