| Bulgaria’s Commission for the Protection of Competition (CPC) reacts to new draft PPP law On May 24 Bulgaria’s Commission for the Protection of Competition (CPC) expressed that a public-private partnership can harm competition and break state aid rules, which is why it would be "appropriate" for the watchdog to rule on every proposed partnership before it is allowed to go ahead, the daily quoted the CPC as saying. "A public-private partnership presumes the joining of efforts by the private and state sectors, each represented by one or more companies. The consolidation of activity of different companies can lead to an increased efficiency and lower production costs. But at the same time, it must be taken into account that such a consolidation can have a limiting effect on competition and represent concentration of activity, as defined in the Protection of Competition Act," the regulator said in a statement. Bulgaria has no dedicated law on public-private partnerships, which are now regulated by provisions in the Concessions Act and Public Procurement Act, but a bill has been drafted to address that shortcoming. The draft has been criticised by Bulgarian Industrial Association, one of the country's biggest employer groups, for limiting the bill's provisions exclusively to the construction sector, suggesting that it should cover the services sector as well. Source: The Sofia Echo
PPP projects are becoming more realistic in Ukraine „Thanks to some recent major reforms of Ukrainian legislation, project finance using the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mechanism finally appears to have become a realistic possibility. During March and April 2011, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a number of resolutions to better regulate the implementation of PPP projects in Ukraine, demonstrating the readiness of the Ukrainian government as public partner to take serious steps to attract private partners for PPP projects in Ukraine. However, the legal regime is only one aspect of the whole PPP process. It is also important for the private partner in a PPP project to be sure that the public partner will fulfill its financial obligations under any given PPP contract. To answer this question and to assess all the related risks, it is also necessary to analyze Ukrainian public finance law, as public finance is crucial importance in any PPP project.“ Source: Oleg Klymchuk
PPPs and Pension Funds – how does it go together? In May 2011, Royal BAM Group and Dutch pension fund administrator PGGM Infrastructure announced the formation of a joint venture. This joint venture, BAM PPP PGGM Infrastructure Cooperatie U.A., marks a significant development, and is the first of its kind, in the European Public Private Partnership (PPP) market. It combines the capabilities of a proven developer of PPP concessions with the skills of a major long-term investor. The objective of the joint venture is to provide a long-term partnership to invest in the developing social and transport PPP markets in the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany and Switzerland. The initial target value to be invested is €390 million. BAM PPP will transfer into the joint venture a total value of €150 million of existing PPP assets and the remaining €240 million will be allocated to new projects yet to be acquired.” To read the whole article click here Source: www.pggm.nl |
