PPP contracts differ from many other types of contracts that government bodies enter. By necessity, they are often complex and incomplete. To this end, flexibility and the capacity for change are at the heart of the best arrangements. This flexibility stretches beyond contract terms and goes to the heart of both skills and resources which need to be available and deployed throughout the whole life of the contract. For example, we will be considering the core differences between social PPPs and economic PPPs. Hospitals and Toll motorways have completely different risk structures. One is people heavy and the other largely concerns maintenance. Therefore, each contract must be looked at separately. It’s not just a matter of deleting and copying fresh wording into a template.
We will be examining the different risk profile accompanying different types of contracts. Transfer of responsibility is a key part of the negotiation skill set required for those entrusted with spending the public purse wisely. We will also be contrasting the different negotiating stances taken by contractors during the PPP bidding process. Question about the efficiency and cost of PPP structures compared to standard commercial contracts will be address, along with whether the client should ask for an RFP or go straight to an RFQ. Other related issues such as SPVs presenting consortium bids and the details needed to be presented will all form part of the subject matter.
