Caractéristiques des PPP

The structure of a PPP project is ultimately determined by the contractual scope (which defines the extent of the private partner's responsibilities), bearing in mind that the contractual scope and structure may vary, even between projects in the same sector and involving the construction of the same types of infrastructure.

The project structure also reflects the financial structure (the mechanism(s) for remunerating the private party in return for the works and services performed) and the allocation of risks (i.e. how responsibilities are classified in terms of risks for each party), as well as various other provisions.

The private partner is generally a project company (SPV), i.e. an ad hoc entity created specifically to carry out and manage the project. The project company ‘delegates’ most of its rights and obligations to its subcontractors under a series of downstream contracts, which transfer responsibilities, obligations, risks and cash flows to various private stakeholders:

• A shareholders' agreement (especially with financial investors).
• Financing agreements.
• Construction or engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) or related.
• One or more operation and maintenance (O&M).
• Insurance contracts and guarantees.

Note: Note :DBFOM= design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance; EPC= engineering, procurement, construction; O&M = operation and maintenance; SPV = project company.

Source: The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Certification Guide.