In general the PPP process would need to be well defined and described in the grant application, so that its main features are taken into account in the grant approval process29. Equally important, the grant approval process needs also to be well described in the PPP tender documentation, to give comfort to bidders that the EU grant funding will indeed materialise, and at the right time.
Grant application can be submitted either before commercial close or after commercial close30.
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29 According Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006, Article 40, the grant application should include inter alia: information on the body responsible for the implementation of the project; description of the investment including the estimation of its financial volume; estimation of the amount to be co-financed by the EU Funds.
30 By commercial close we understand the award of the contract to the preferred bidder. It means that the identity of the PPP company is fully known after commercial close.