As interest in public-private partnerships in the region comes to a boil, Paul Sweeney, regional director – head of programme management KSA at Faithful+Gould shares key takeaways from successful PPP projects exclusively with Middle East Consultant.
Sweeney notes that it’s critical to involve the best people right from the start, and ensure that the entities involved have the capacity, commitment and passion to see a project through. Communication and stakeholder engagement are also said to be critical on projects of this nature.
“Effective, open communication is vital. A clear and robust communication plan should be established early, to enable every stakeholder to be fully briefed at all times. Stakeholder engagement allows people to make a real contribution, to feel involved and to leave a ‘personal fingerprint’ on the completed project,” Sweeney explains.
Timely decision making is an essential part of the equation as well according to Sweeney. “This enables the project to advance through the successive development stages as scheduled, which, when there are so many interdependent technical, financial and legal aspects to the scheme, is simply crucial.”
To avoid significant cost related shocks/concerns later, Sweeney points out that planned preventive maintenance (PPM) should be better studied and understood. “PPM is not fully understood by all parties, as such works, and the corresponding costs, are not fully scoped, priced and committed for a concession period. Thus, the public sector is surprised by the magnitude of these cumulative costs when defined. Organisations generally focus on the annual capital investment plan for their key projects,” notes Sweeney.
An understanding of risk sharing is the final aspect that Sweeney highlights. He concludes, “In this region, there has historically been a limited understanding of ‘risk sharing’. The standard approaches to contracting being governed by a variety of procurement laws and processes that lead towards lump sum fixed price (FIDIC Red or similar). Combining this with the lack of design and build (relatively) in region and you have a steep learning curve to deliver on PPP.”