On November 16th the Senate passed the project sent by the Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers through message 770/16 to the Congress. It sets the grounds for contracts on Private-Public Partnerships between a State body, company or a trust created for those purposes, and the private sector. Through it the government aims to attract investments in a variety of sectors including Transport, Urban Development, Water, Energy, Communications, Health, Security or Technology Sector.
Private-Public Partnerships agreements represent a change in the traditional paradigm of public construction by shifting the burden of financing and developing away from the state to the private sector. Moreover, companies will have a maximum period of 35 years to finish the project without being able to obtain more extensions. Though it adopts a flexible attitude towards the construction of the agreement, it sets the procedure of public tender which has to benefit national companies and employment. It allows international companies to include foreign jurisdiction clauses for dispute resolution. Finally, it creates two regulatory bodies the “Unit for Private-Public Partnership” within the Executive Branch and the “Bicameral Commission to Oversee Private-Public Partnerships” under the Legislative Branch.
Though it has not been published in the Official Gazette and probably there will be a Decree from the Executive Branch, the Investors Opportunity Booklet when giving details about each one outlines that they will be funded by PPP.