A.3 Scope of Procurement Options Analysis

The scope of the procurement options analysis was as follows:

• establishment of a framework for the comparative analysis of procurement options, including the identification and ranking of a set of evaluation criteria and a system for rating the options against each criterion. The evaluation criteria have been informed by the government's existing objectives for the project;

• identification of an agreed range of procurement options to be considered (informed by existing local and international precedents);

• an overview of the key project risks, together with an assessment of the retained and transferred risk position for the government under each procurement option;

• an outline of the expected timeframes for achieving an operational facility and the relative risks to those timeframes under each procurement option;

• Completion of market analysis, including market soundings, addressing the following:

market capacity & key players;

appetite amongst financiers, operators and suppliers; and

issues relevant to competitive tension.

• assessment of the relative value for money outcomes for the government under each procurement option;

• overall assessment and ranking of the identified procurement options against the evaluation criteria, together with a recommendation regarding the preferred procurement approach;

• a summary of the commercial structure and issues associated with the preferred procurement approach (including preliminary accounting treatment); and

• identification of issues arising from the above analysis which are relevant to the next steps in the implementation of the project.