1. Government Entity: The Government Entity is chiefly responsible for the procurement process. Following the approval of the Feasibility Study by the competent authority, as outlined in Section 2.3, the Government Entity must proceed with the procurement, convening the PPP Project Team in order to outline a project charter that sets out a clear Timeline with milestones for the procurement documents to be produced. Interaction with the Partnership Committee and the Department of Finance on a regular basis is highly encouraged, and it is advised that the charter outline periodic meetings to inform key Stakeholders of project progress. The EOI, IM, RfQ, RfQ evaluation report, RfP, project contracts, the Bid evaluation report, and the identity of the Preferred Bidder must all be submitted by the Government Entity, following internal review by the Partnership Committee, to the Department of Finance for approval prior to publication. A Timeline of two weeks must be provided for the Department of Finance to review and provide comments on documents, following the lapsing of which the document will be assumed to be approved.
The identity of the Preferred Bidder must be approved by the Department of Finance (which will inform the Supreme Fiscal Committee), following which the Partnership Committee can commence negotiations. The Government Entity should ensure there is adequate representation from the Department of Finance and other key Stakeholders on the negotiation team. Any material amendments from the guidelines and the standard PPP contract must be cleared with the Supreme Fiscal Committee prior to agreement with the Preferred Bidder. When negotiations have concluded, the Government Entity must approach the Department of Finance and the Supreme Fiscal Committee to approve the final Bid and transaction contracts, for which they will be provided with a period of two weeks. Following their approval, the Government Entity will sign the PPP contract and award the Project to the Preferred Bidder.
2. Department of Finance: The Department of Finance will be the chief provider of assistance to the Government Entity during the procurement process. The Department is encouraged, particularly at the start of the PPP programme, to provide regular assistance and feedback to the Government Entity on procurement document drafts, even prior to the official review period. The Department will be in charge of reviewing and providing formal feedback over a two-week period following submission by the Government Entity. Following the Government Entity's re-submission of the amended document (if there are substantive changes to be made), the Department must provide formal approval within one week. If there are any material Deviations from the guidelines, the Department must refer the issue to the Supreme Fiscal Committee for approval before the Government Entity can proceed with the procurement.
3. Supreme Fiscal Committee: The Supreme Fiscal Committee is in charge of approving all material Deviations from the guidelines and the standard PPP contract, and of approving any explicit requests from the Department of Finance during the course of the regular approval process. In addition, the Committee is informed of the identity of the Preferred Bidder prior to the commencement of negotiations, and must approve the final Bid and the terms of the final PPP contract prior to signing and award by the Government Entity.
4. Partnership Committee: The Partnership Committee will be the primary internal supervisory body that reviews all documents prior to submission to the Department of Finance for approval. In addition, the Committee is in charge of inviting Bidders to a session in which bids are opened; responsible for reviewing and assessing the technical, financial, and legal aspects; determining accepted and disqualified bids; assessing conformity to announced terms and specifications; and, awarding an assessment score to all bids.
5. Post-procurement process