PART TWO The Agency secured a PPP that transferred risk at a cost that was slightly less than the estimated cost of a conventional procurement

In September 2005, over five years after starting the procurement, the Agency and GeneSYS signed a Public Private Partnership contract for the NRTS. Despite delays in the tendering period, the Agency preserved competitive tension almost to the selection of a preferred bidder, avoided deal drift afterwards and secured contractual arrangements close to the terms it wanted.

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The Agency closely controlled the tendering stage of the procurement
The Agency obtained a lot of information about its existing assets, but the quality was not uniformly high
The Agency produced detailed documentation on what was required from a contractor
The Agency estimated future service demand
Market interest was stimulated during the tendering period
The Agency maintained its bargaining position through to the selection of a preferred bidder
The Agency's fallback was to continue with its current arrangements in the short-term
During negotiations with the preferred bidder, the Agency avoided any overall price increase to the deal
While the case for the NRTS remained positive, the rationale for using the PPP procurement route became more limited
Justification for the PPP shifted from commercial exploitation of telecommunications assets to creating a long-term relationship with a single contractor
The risk adjustments to the PSC resulted in the PPP being marginally less expensive than using conventional procurement
Item-by-item pricing
Adjustment for risk
The Agency reduced the initial upgrade works to make the project affordable