88. The institutional framework for concessions and PPPs in Tunisia is currently laid out under the November 2013 Decree on Concessions (n° 2013-4631 of 18 November). The main body mandated to coordinate, provide advice on and monitor PPPs and concessions is the Unité de suivi des concessions (or concessions tracking unit, USC). Established under the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), it replaced an ad-hoc committee on concessions that existed within the PMO since 2008. The USC is responsible for providing support to public entities throughout the procurement process, including the preparation of guidelines and model specifications, capacity building, and encouraging concession projects in Tunisia's regions. The USC is seen as the predecessor of the National PPP Unit, which is provided for in the draft PPP law of 2013 which has yet to be implemented.
89. The USC (and the future PPP Unit) is supported by an interdepartmental committee with six members appointed every three years by the head of government. Members include representatives of the Ministries of Economy and Finance, Public Works, and Planning and Development and the committee is chaired by the director of USC. It is responsible for reviewing all PPP and concessions projects, and supporting the USC is all aspects of upstream project preparation (from calls to tender through to contract negotiations with the selected bidder).
90. The Ministry of Economy and Finance also houses a body tasked with PPPs, the Direction générale des partenariats public-privé (DGPPP) whose main role is to monitor the fiscal and financial risks of public spending on PPP projects. The DGPGP has also contributed to developing the draft legislation on PPPs, and will remain involved in the preparation and negotiation of PPP projects once the new PPP regime is in place. The Direction générale d'audit et de suivi des grands projets (DGASGP), also within the Ministry of Economy and Finance, is responsible for the audit and monitoring of large projects, and accordingly has broad powers regarding the procurement and monitoring of major infrastructure projects.
91. It is important to note that the concessions and PPP regime in Tunisia is separate from the public procurement regime (régime des marchés publics), which is governed by the 2014 Decree on Public Procurement (n° 2014-1039 of 13 March 2014). Accordingly, public procurement that does not involve concessions or PPPs is managed by a separate set of institutions.
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10 . The OECD, in co-operation with the USC and the African Development Bank, has been engaged with the Government of Tunisia as it reforms its institutional framework for PPPs. As part of the Operationalising PPPs in Tunisia project, funded by the Deauville Partnership Transition Fund, the OECD expects to publish reports in the second quarter of 2015 that examine the legal, institutional and budgetary frameworks for PPPs in the country.