Under the Public Private Partnership Authority Act of 2017, the primary objective of P3A is to provide an enabling legal and regulatory framework for developing, executing and implementing P3 transactions, thereby promoting private sector investment towards building public infrastructure and the provision of related services. P3A has the mandate to facilitate federal implementing agencies in developing, structuring and procuring their infrastructure projects on a P3 basis. In addition, the Board of P3A is empowered to approve such P3 transactions that are projected to provide Value for Money (VFM) solutions in the public sector while retaining a bankable financial structure for the private sector.

The Federal Government, with an objective of further simplifying and streamlining P3 project development, appraisal and approval processes, as envisaged under the P3A Act, promulgated the P3A (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 (“P3A Ordinance”). Under the P3A Ordinance, the P3A will undertake only ‘Qualified’ projects as defined in the P3A Ordinance. A project that falls outside the ambit of a ‘Qualified’ project will be undertaken by the Implementing Agency with the approval of its Principal Accounting Officer. Further, all projects that are undertaken by the Implementing Agency will not undergo the approval process of P3A. In accordance with the P3A Ordinance, the approval process is streamlined, thereby enabling the Board of P3A to make quick decision. In accordance with the mandate of P3A, P3A will continue to facilitate and advise Implementing Agencies in developing, structuring, procuring and implementing their P3A projects, even if they are not ‘Qualified’ projects.

Furthermore, in order to enable the Government to pursue its development goals more aggressively, the Ordinance also provides for the private sector to submit Unsolicited Proposals (USPs) to P3A/IAs for projects that have not been identified/conceptualized by the government but may have the potential to be implemented on a P3 basis through creating a win-win solution for both the public and the private sectors.