Under the DBOM5 approach, the private contractor will be responsible for both the design/construction phase and the operation/maintenance phase for a specified period of time under a single contract. The contractor (often a consortium of design, build, operating, and project management companies) agrees to meet various performance standards established by the public sponsor involving physical condition of the asset, capacity, and congestion management. The potential benefits of the DBOM approach are the increased incentives for the delivery of a higher quality project because the con-tractor is responsible for operating and maintaining the facility for a specified period of time after construction. Thus, it is in the DBOM contractor's best interest to consider life-cycle costs and provide high-quality construction in order to avoid higher life-cycle maintenance and improvement costs during the operating phase. A DBOM contractor effectively assumes the risk that it will comply with the public sponsor's performance specifications, deliver the project on time and on budget, and ensure the quality of construction and the performance of maintenance and rehabilitation throughout the operating phase.
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5 See Fig. 2.2, Contracting Methods Involving Different Levels of Involvement, U.S. DEP'T OF TRANSP., REPORT TO CONGRESS ON PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS (2004) ("USDOT Report"), at 13.