A modification request triggers significant activity within the private party consortium, because many parties must be consulted. Even before issuing a formal request for modification, the government party should consult with the private party, who will in turn consult with members of their consortium, with respect to the potential State-initiated modification.
After the government party lodges a request for a State-initiated modification with the private party:
• the private party's representative will refer it to either an established or a new project team responsible for design and construction. The size of the project team will depend upon the scale and complexity of the proposed modification;
• typically, within a defined period after the government party's request, the private party must provide to the government party a quote for the cost of preparing a proposal for the State-initiated modification. If the government party accepts the quote, the private party must prepare the proposal and the private party will only be entitled to recover from the government party the amount quoted for preparing the proposal. If the government party rejects the quote, it may require the private party to submit a further quote, or advise the private party that it will not proceed with the modification;
• after assessing the modification, the private party's project team will refer the request to private sector contractors for conceptual design development and pricing (if applicable);
• the project team will also seek the views of the facilities management subcontractor as a modification is likely to impact maintenance and asset management activities (in a full-service PPP, the operator will also be consulted);
• the project team will deliver a proposal (including conceptual design, assumptions, pricing and impact on service requirements) to the private party, which will pass this work on to the project's financiers and facilities management subcontractor and operator (if required) to review. The facilities management subcontractor and operator (if required) will estimate the change in lifecycle costs and operating costs (if required), as a result of the modification; and
• finally, the financiers, facilities management subcontractor and operator (if required) will respond to the private party, which will pass the consolidated information in the form of a proposal to the government party. Where the government party decides not to proceed with a modification after receipt of a proposal, but has accepted a quote for the preparation of the proposal, the government party must pay the private party the amount accepted for preparation of the proposal even if the modification will not be implemented.