Public–private partnerships for sustainable infrastructure development in Ghana: a systematic review and recommendations Isaac Akomea-Frimpong, Xiaohua Jin, Robert Osei-Kyei and Augustine Senanu Kukah School of Engineering, Design and Built Environment, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia Abstract Purpose – The contribution of the public–private partnership (PPP) model towards the achievement of the United Nation (UN)’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been widely acknowledged. However, limited studies have shed light on the connection between PPPs and the achievement of these coveted goals in Ghana. In this study, the authors aimed at analysing and synthesising the existing literature on the use of PPP to achieve sustainability in infrastructure projects in the country. Design/methodology/approach – A three-step approach was used to retrieve and review 60 selected articles aided by content analysis. Findings – The analysis showed that all existing relevant publications on the application of the PPP model to attain UN’ s SDGs in the country are organised around dominant themes, such as poverty alleviation, urban development, waste management and risk management. However, the review revealed little studies exist on pertinent issues relating to PPPs and sustainable development goals, such as climate action, critical resilience, sustainable finance and clean energy. Research limitations/implications – Although the study is limited to 60 articles in Ghana, the results reveal pertinent gaps for further research studies to achieve sustainable infrastructural development in Ghana and other countries. Practical implications – Holistically, the outcome of this study will serve as a guide to project managers to understand essential issues on attaining sustainability on public projects. Originality/value – This article contributes to the literature and practice on the significance of PPP in mainstreaming UN’s SDGs in public infrastructure projects. Keywords Infrastructure projects, Ghana, Public-private partnerships, Review, Sustainable development goals, United Nations Paper type Literature review 1. Introduction Public infrastructure, such as schools, roads, hospitals, public buildings and railways, are important components of every economy (Liu et al. , 2020). Hitherto, the capital investment for the construction of the public infrastructure was the sole responsibility of the state ( Zhang et al. , 2020). However, the past couple of decades have seen an astronomic growth of the participation of private investors in the development of public infrastructure, especially in emerging markets ( Cui et al. , 2018; Akomea-Frimpong et al. , 2021). The term public–private partnership (PPP) has been coined Public–private partnerships This research forms part of a PhD thesis project funded by Western Sydney University. As an aspect of the sponsored research project, this article shares similar background but different method, data and results with other articles published and presented in peer-reviewed journals and conferences. Finally, the authors are grateful for the immense contributions made towards this article by editors and reviewers of this reputable journal. Received 7 July 2021 Revised 18 August 2021 10 September 2021 Accepted 15 September 2021 Smart and Sustainable Built Environment © Emerald Publishing Limited 2046-6099 DOI 10.1108/SASBE-07-2021-0111 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/2046-6099.htm