Value for Money Integration in the Renegotiation of Public Private Partnership Road Projects

Abstract

The governments of various countries have continued to adopt Public Private Partnership (PPP) for infrastructure projects delivery due to its many advantages over the traditional procurement method. However, concerns have been raised by stakeholders about the viability of PPP to deliver Value for Money (VfM), especially for the client. These discussions have generated debates and arguments in policy and advisory documents within the last decade mainly in the renegotiation of PPP water and transport projects and their VfM implications. Poor or non-achievement of VfM in PPP contracts renegotiation has led to this study in PPP road projects with the overall aim of integrating VfM considerations into the renegotiation process of PPP road projects.
Mixed methodology research approach is used to achieve the objectives set for the study. Interviews and questionnaires of professionals involved in Design-Build-Finance-Operate (DBFO) road projects in the UK are used in the study. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data collected revealed that technical, contractual and additional works are the categories of factors leading to renegotiations and have an impact on the achievement of VfM. These findings show that renegotiation does not necessarily have to erode the VfM benefits of PPP road projects for the client and lead to user’s dissatisfaction regarding quality, fees, and charges. The research shows that the very critical factors leading to the renegotiation of road concessions are changes to works standards, specifications, the scope of works, and additional works. The findings also indicate that design and planning measures such as clear and concise contract documents, a definition of detailed criteria for VfM and performance indicators, and accurate estimation of contract requirements amongst others are critical measures to ensure the achievement of VfM at the renegotiation of PFI (DBFO) road projects. Also, VfM can further be achieved for the renegotiations that are predominantly motivated by technical and contractual factors.
This study developed a VfM renegotiation framework for the UK PFI (DBFO) road projects. The five constituents of the VfM renegotiation framework are identification and establishment of measures and mechanisms, the factors leading to renegotiation and their level of criticalities, impacts of the renegotiation on VfM criteria, the identification of renegotiation outcomes and their natures and the application of remedial actions (if necessary). The concept of the framework is premised on the importance of defining and agreeing on appropriate measures and VfM contractual mechanisms by both public and private stakeholders at the contract inception to guide future renegotiation. An assessment of the factors, impacts, and outcomes of the renegotiation is necessary during the stages of implementation of the PPP road projects to develop an understanding of the implications of the renegotiation on VfM.
The knowledge of the impacts of renegotiations during implementation will inform the responsible stakeholder's decision on the appropriate actions required to address any observed deviations from the project performance indicators or value for money criteria defined at the inception of the contract. The public and private partners can achieve their respective VfM objectives while also achieving user’s satisfaction through the adoption of the proposed VfM renegotiation framework. There is, however, a need for the public and private partners who will be the primary beneficiary of the framework to be proactively involved in the use of the framework from contract inception to handing over of the project residual value to the client. The formulation of measures for renegotiation at the outset of the contract as indicated in the framework is essential to achieving VfM at renegotiation. Also, the client should ensure that flexibility is built into the agreement regarding the contract mechanisms for payment from the beginning, to allow either party to introduce proposals that can enhance the achievement of VfM at renegotiation or change negotiation.