Some governments, as part of legislative reform, are trying to simplify and expedite the project approval and preparation process. Efforts include:
• Ensuring efficient and transparent procurement services which are foreign investor "friendly"
• Creating centralized PPP liaison centers which work with private entities to support or facilitate the project preparation process. This includes simplifying the number of permits or municipals involved and helps ensure necessary project land is pre-acquired
• Creating a new project oversight committee, that can intervene if the application or negotiation takes too much time
• Provision of a standardized checklist of documents in their requests for proposals, similar to the sector-specific checklists provided for World Bank's Public-Private Partnership in Infrastructure Resource Center (PPPIRC)24
There has been significant progress in Thailand and Indonesia on these fronts. Both have started to streamline the entire deal preparation process, learning from past experiences where land acquisition and funding issues resulted in prolonged project delays. Examples include the Batang Java Central power plants, and the Thailand-China highspeed 873 km railway project.