The contract management team needs to be at least partly in place before financial close to ensure that the transition into the construction phase is smooth and effective. It is also important that both the Project Company and the contractor (and possibly key subcontractors) are required to maintain overlapping staff.
It is advantageous to involve the contract manager in the tender process before financial close. The contract manager should thoroughly understand the contract from an operational point of view, which can be facilitated by understanding the development of the contract structure following negotiations with the Project Company. Involvement of the contract manager before financial close has an ancillary benefit: to have contract management responsibilities and objectives fully considered in the drafting of the PPP contract before it is signed.
The research indicates that Procuring Authorities often change their contract management team completely following financial close. Where this is the case, a carefully managed and comprehensive handover is vital. Handover at this stage, and staff changes during transitions are detailed in Section 3.1 (Transitions).