Data is to be collected at the following milestone points:
Initial Announcement: The first time (or earliest time) the project is announced and going forward to market. Announcement may be made a number of ways (commonly via a Ministerial media release) and may be on the basis of limited project development or a preliminary or a full business case. The project may be announced:
→ as part of a strategic policy statement;
→ following agreement to conduct a business case;
→ as part of the budget cycle; and/or
→ by releasing documents to the market.
At Budget Approval (prior to market release): The time Cabinet (or a delegated approved authority) agrees to project budget, normally as part of the annual budget, or may be at another time during the year. Budget approval is:
→ likely to be as part of the budget process and announcements;
→ may be agreed to at another time during the year outside of the budget cycle; and/or
→ budget variations may occur following full business case or development of a Public
Sector Comparator (PSC), therefore the latest budget approved figure should be referenced, that is the latest figure prior to releasing the full tender documents (Project Brief) to market.
At contract signing: The date on which the State signs the contractual agreement with the successful Tenderer and it becomes effective.
→ For PPP projects this is defined as financial close.
→ Financial close: for PPP Projects this may be the same date as contract execution or may be a slightly later date, following financial adjustments. It is the final NPV contract price at this point in time that is to be recorded.
Actual: Is the commissioning date for the infrastructure. The date upon which the State accepts the infrastructure as operational in accordance with the contract. There may be times when there are staged openings and these could be noted. This date is after all acceptance testing, etc is completed and the infrastructure becomes operational.
Contract end date: For PPP projects only - it is the date upon which the contract specifies that the contract finishes and the infrastructure is handed back to the State. This date may be varied (extended or reduced) during the operational phase and the database should be updated if that occurs.