23. In a typical publicly financed procurement there is private sector involvement to build a new or refurbish an existing facility. Once construction is completed, except for warranties under the construction contract or statutory warranties, the relationship of the builder and the public authority ends. The private-sector contractor therefore has limited interest in the quality of construction or long-term operating and maintenance costs of the facility.
24. Combining the design, construction and long-term operation and maintenance of infrastructure into one contract with a private sector entity creates incentives to design and build an asset with low life-cycle maintenance and operating costs. Informed by their experience in building, operating and maintaining similar projects, developers seek to build infrastructure that is cheaper and easier to operate and maintain over the full term of a contract that may last 25-30 years. These lower operating and maintenance costs are reflected in the bid price and thereby passed along to the public authority and by extension to tax payers.