Interviewing both parties to the PPP contract was important, as it provided the balance and range of views required for the Case Studies. Where possible, lenders and other key stakeholders were also interviewed.
The interviews were conducted mostly through conference calls. Where possible, some interviews were conducted through physical meetings in either Turner & Townsend's regional offices or the relevant stakeholder's own facilities. It was evident that face to face interaction was essential in some regions, such as South America, India, and China. The majority of interviews were conducted in English, with interviews also conducted in Mandarin, Arabic, Spanish and Portuguese as appropriate.
In some cases, where needed, the interviews were undertaken in two or more sittings due to the level of information the stakeholders were providing, or to accommodate the availability of the participants.
The interviews for the Case Studies provided real life experience on many of the challenges commonly faced on PPP projects. However, some events are rare by nature and are not faced commonly on PPP projects. Consequently, regardless of the large sample, real life examples of some challenges were not found (e.g. lender step-in).
To help address the lack of examples and make the guidance in the reference tool as broadly applicable as possible, a range of interviews were conducted with experts in the industry. When engaged, the majority of the industry experts around the world responded to our request with enthusiasm. The interviewed experts included lawyers, project managers, insurers and lenders, experienced dispute and dispute resolution consultants, as well as financial advisors. A substantial legal review of a draft version of the reference tool was also undertaken to pick up nuances in different legal jurisdictions. The legal review included input from legal practitioners with experience in Europe (the UK, a common law country, and civil law countries), Asia, Latin America, Africa and Australia.