Polančec: Greater Use of PPP Expected in the Construction of Hospitals, Prisons, and University Facilities

By applying the public-private partnership (PPP) model, Croatia could address a range of its needs for the construction of schools, sports, and infrastructure facilities, it was stated at today’s conference on PPP in Croatia organized by the Agency for Promotion of Exports and Investments (APIU).

 The topics of the conference, attended by several hundred representatives mainly from the public sector, include the initiation and legal framework of public-private partnerships, financing and suitability of PPPs, and the study of specific examples. PPP is particularly suitable for countries with limited budgetary capabilities of the central government and local self-government units, assessed Deputy Prime Minister Damir Polančec.

According to him, local self-government units could finance the construction of schools, sports and school halls, and similar facilities using this model, and the application of the model, says Polančec, is not excluded even in the construction of halls for the World Handball Championship that is to be held in Croatia in 2009. Likewise, Polančec states that a greater use of PPP is expected in the construction of hospitals, prisons, and university facilities. PPP, it was heard at the gathering, accelerates the construction of facilities and reduces costs by between 17 and 20 percent. PPP is a model of private investment for the creation of some public good or the provision of a public service. It emerged in the early 1980s in Great Britain by granting concessions for the construction and use of infrastructure facilities.

Today, it is used in all areas where public services are provided, public works are carried out, or public goods are utilized. In Croatia, there is no specific law that regulates PPPs, but the Parliament adopted Guidelines for the Application of Contractual Forms of PPP in July last year, and alongside them, there is the Law on Concessions and provisions on concessions in other laws. PPP is also part of the Government’s document Strategic Framework for Development 2006 – 2013, in which it is given a significant role in the realization of infrastructure projects.

Additionally, a PPP Sector has been established within APIU, whose tasks include establishing a register of all PPP contracts in Croatia, studying and transferring the best global practices of PPP to Croatia, upgrading the legislative framework, and assisting the public sector in concluding PPP contracts. (H)