The government’s plan to rope in the private sector in development of physical infrastructure through Public Private Partnership (PPP) has moved an inch further, with the completion of a preliminary survey on establishment of the PPP Centre.

A committee formed to conduct operations and management (O&M) survey for establishment of the PPP Centre, on Wednesday, handed over a report to Ram Kumar Acharya, secretary of the National Planning Commission (NPC), the parent body of the centre.

The O&M survey, among others, helps in identifying the number of employees that an organisation requires to carry out its works and divides responsibilities among various staff members.

The survey was conducted by a five-member committee headed by Tulasi Prasad Gautam, chief of the Administration Division at the NPC. It also comprised officials of the Ministry of General Administration, the Ministry of Finance and the NPC as members.

The preliminary O&M survey report has proposed to recruit around 19 to 20 civil servants at the PPP Centre and carry out a chunk of its works by hiring independent and other experts based on demand, NPC Deputy Spokesperson Sagar Acharya told the Post.

The centre will be headed by an executive director, who will be selected from among joint secretaries of the government, according to Acharya. “Our proposal will now be reviewed by the NPC board. If the proposal is endorsed, the PPP Centre will be formally established at the NPC,” Acharya said.

The main responsibilities of the PPP Centre, as per the PPP Policy, are to conduct feasibility studies of projects that could be built under the PPP model. It will also appraise procurement documents, and text of concessional agreements, also known as project development agreements, that the government and the private sector need to sign prior to implementing PPP projects. The centre will also facilitate in designing, developing and operating PPP projects and conduct studies on good PPP practices embraced here and abroad.

It will also work as a bridge between various government agencies and the private sector, educate officials of government agencies about PPP concept, and link potential investors with banking institutions to mobilise financial resources to develop PPP projects.

It has been quite some time since the government has been trying to promote PPP in the country, as this model is believed to help the government bridge the infrastructure gap by mobilising the private sector.

Under the PPP model, the government works as a facilitator to expedite implementation of projects and sometimes works as an equity partner, while the private sector mobilises financial resources and expertise to complete the projects.

Once such projects are complete, developers operate them for certain years, during which they recover investment and generate profit.

The projects are then handed over to the government free of cost and in a good working condition.

The government is keen to promote PPP because it generally fails to complete over 80 per cent of the projects on time. This not only causes inconvenience to the public but results in cost overrun and leads to development of low-quality infrastructure.