The Procuring Authority should aim to limit the introduction of too many scope changes soon after financial close, as this might affect value for money forecast at financial close and alter the risk allocation agreed in the PPP contract. For example, such actions may be symptomatic of shortcomings in the design, such as its incompleteness.
The key issue associated with significant scope changes is that it is no longer obvious that the Project Company offers the most cost-effective solution for the scope change in the absence of competition. This is because the scope change may be being processed through what is an agreement negotiated bilaterally between the parties, without competition, and the project's value for money becomes less clear. Some jurisdictions require a freeze on design changes made after financial close for an initial duration.
Minor changes during the course of operations are considered normal, as they may entail little or no costs cost but can capture changes in circumstances during the contract's lifecycle.