2.29 In deciding whether a PFI based PPP is an appropriate procurement route, guidance recommends that the procuring authority compares the procurement route against a public sector comparator (PSC), providing a conventional procurement is a feasible alternative. Where the authority has a track record of providing similar services and associated cost data exist, the authority should establish a range for the cost of the public sector procurement route, rather than calculate a single point estimate. For the Agency, the NRTS is a one-off, technology based project about which it had limited experience of the risks involved and their associated costs.
2.30 The Agency's PSC modelled the costs of the NRTS project on the basis that the Agency would procure the same services as those proposed in the PPP option, but through direct purchases of the assets and contracting out maintenance services (Figure 15). The Agency's approach comprised two major components:
■ an item-by-item pricing of the technical solution; and
■ an adjustment based on the Agency's assessment of what a rational PPP contractor would have included in its prices for risks.