By giving the contractor more flexibility in final design, the public sponsor facilitates use of cost-saving innovations and enables the developer to take advantage of a broad array of specialized resources that are available to its team. In order to gain full advantage of these efficiencies, the government sponsor must approve the requirements to be met by the sponsor, prior to start of the final design process, and must limit its review of the project design to verification that the design conforms to applicable requirements, such as design standards and performance-based specifications. Likewise, in the operation and maintenance phase, performance measures rather than prescriptive standards allow the contractor flexibility to innovate and achieve efficient operations while maintaining the public sponsor's quality standards.
The selection of a PPP for project delivery can impact capital construction costs directly and indirectly. In addition, a PPP can impact the life-cycle costs to operate and maintain the asset over its useful life.