Since 2002, Partnerships BC has delivered 35 projects worth $12.5 billion to British Columbians, according to the provincial government. This includes approximately $5 billion in private capital.
Projects include the aforementioned $1.9 billion Canada Line, the $600 million improvement to the Sea-to-Sky highway linking Vancouver with Whistler mountain, the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics, and the picturesque $130 million Kicking Horse Canyon highway replacement.
Partnerships BC has developed so much expertise in PPPs that its services are now sought outside its borders. Though she declines to name any specific clients, Clark says Partnerships BC has advised the Canadian government and other Canadian provinces on PPPs, as well as one US county.
The recipe to Partnerships BC's success is open dialogue between its clients, the various governmental ministries in British Columbia, and the private sector. Once a government body, such as the Ministry of Health Services, comes up with an idea for a project, it goes to Partnerships BC for advice on how best to procure the project. All projects over $50 million in capital cost are given automatic review to see whether they'd be better off being procured as PPPs. If they are, they go to the board of the province's treasury for approval. Approval in hand, Partnerships BC then begins the project's procurement.
"We don't put out an RFQ without having the approval to be able to finish a project," she says. "We finish the projects that we start."