The traditional business of construction companies is to build infrastructure and make a profit from this activity. The business of concessionary companies in the PPP context is rather different. It involves not only building and maintaining the infrastructure project, but also finding investors willing to finance the construction based on the expected revenues from the operation of the asset during the concession period. Those in the construction business are skilled at building; those in the concessionary company require more long-term finance skills.
In addition, capital structures needed by both types of company are different. PPP projects typically require high leverage, and investors want sound capital structures to provide buffers as well as solid projects with good rates of return. These capital structures are rare in construction companies which, typically, seek to extract the maximum profit during the construction stage and do not care what happens after the construction is completed and they get paid.
Thus, the set of skills, governance and capital structure of concessionary companies should be a key factor for selecting eligible bidders for PPP-based projects.