Over a two-year period, beginning in late 2004, the Nigerian federal government implemented one of the most ambitious port concessioning programs ever attempted. The success of this program resulted from the government's vision and decisiveness, as well as the need to remedy massive shortcomings in the sector, which were sharply inhibiting economic development. But the program also benefited strongly from policy reform recommendations made by PPIAF-funded consultants in 2002. The role of these upstream policy and planning recommendations highlights the value of best practice steps for creating an enabling environment in which sustainable arrangements for the private participation in infrastructure can be concluded.