公共项目私人融资新途径——PFI

ＰＦＩ是一种新的公共项目私人融资方式。它鼓励私人部门营建基础设施项目或政府公共项目,并以此为基础提供公共服务的一种区别于传统政府公共项目的出产方式。它能够广泛地适用于许多政府的公共项目领域,在英国该方式已成为政府获得高质量、高效率的政府项目的主要工具。ＰＦＩ的应用有二个基本必须遵循的原则,一是要能够实现安全可靠的经济价值;二是项目的风险能够在政府部门和私人部门之间合理分配。     

Monte Carlo simulation approach to life cycle cost management

Public private partnerships (PPP) and private financial initiative (PFI) projects face the challenge of meeting unforeseen future risks. Life cycle cost estimate is a crucial part of PFI/PPP procurement. The traditional deterministic cost model can not take into consideration the uncertainty of future events let alone determine the contingency allowance for the projects. The large number of cost items in the life cycle cost model of building projects makes cost control difficult. Monte Carlo simulation method is applied to the Quantitative Risk Assessment of life cycle costing risk management. A PFI school project was chosen as a case study to demonstrate a new simulation approach to life cycle cost management. The lives and replacement cost rates of building elements are the inputs for the simulation model, while the cumulative life cycle cost are the outputs of the analysis. The sensitivity analysis revealed the cost significant items, which provides the most efficient way for cost control. The results of the analysis identify the high risk life cycle assumptions and provide a variation reference for the decision-makers to define risk and contingency allowance in PFI/PPP projects. The approach can also be applied to other types of building PFI projects.     

Comparative performance of healthcare and transport PFI projects: Empirical study on the influence of key factors

Private Finance Initiative (PFI) has been used on many projects in the UK in the delivery of public services. Cost, time and risk performance in public projects was anticipated to be improved by the superior skills of the private sector. So far, there are limited empirical studies on the life cycle performance of PFI projects, especially performance comparison between different sectors. This study investigated and compared variations in costs, time, and client requirements tracking it through the strategic business case stage to the operational phase in healthcare and transport sectors. It explored the influence of sector-specific factors, project size and maturity of the PFI on these variations. It used documentary analysis of full business cases of five PFI projects and a questionnaire survey of 44 PFI projects in the UK. The findings reveal that there are still considerable cost and time overruns and requirement changes in PFI projects in both sectors over the development of the project and its early use. The health sector was better than the transport sector for time overruns but was worse on costs. Smaller-value projects outperformed larger projects on cost variations but underperformed on time.     

Critical success factors for PPP/PFI projects in the UK construction industry

Public–private partnerships (PPPs) are increasingly used in the United Kingdom's public facilities and services provision through the Private Finance Initiative (PFI). Despite some casualties, PPP/PFI projects have been undertaken successfully, but the reasons for success are not entirely clear. Questionnaire survey research examined the relative importance of 18 potential critical success factors (CSF) for PPP/PFI construction projects in the UK. The results show that the three most important factors are: ‘a strong and good private consortium’, ‘appropriate risk allocation’ and ‘available financial market’. Factor analysis revealed that appropriate factor groupings for the 18 CSFs are: effective procurement, project implementability, government guarantee, favourable economic conditions and available financial market. These findings should influence policy development towards PPPs and the manner in which partners go about the development of PFI projects.     

Public sustainable-energy requirements and innovation in UK PFI school projects

In a bid to understand the relationship between public sector clients’ sustainable energy requirements and innovation, this paper describes a study examining the requirement development process in four private finance initiative (PFI) school projects. A case study approach was adopted to enable a greater understanding of the public sector clients’ activities at the front end of the design process, particularly focusing on requirement identification and the effect of the requirement on private sector actors’ pursuit of an innovative sustainable design. The findings have shown that incentive effects of the requirements are often weak in PFI projects, particularly in relation to the requirement’s specificity and achievability, the inability of requirements such as BREEAM to promote energy efficiency and the low weighting of environmental sustainability on PFI bid evaluation criteria. Taken together, these results offer insight into public authorities in relation to the necessary conditions for the use of requirements as an effective contractual mechanism to encourage innovation for sustainable energy.     

Service delivery and performance monitoring in PFI/PPP projects

Value for money in a PFI project depends crucially on performance monitoring to provide incentives for improvement and to ensure that service delivery is in accordance with the output specification. However, the effectiveness of performance monitoring and output specification cannot be fully assessed until PFI projects become operational. There is a need to examine the role of the performance monitoring mechanism in ensuring that ‘value for money’ is achieved throughout the delivery of services. Based on semi‐structured interviews with key stakeholders from the public and private sectors, the case studies suggest that there are low levels of performance deductions in PFI projects during the operational phase. However, the complexity of performance measurement, inadequate resources for performance monitoring and the difficulties in the interpretation of the output specification raise questions as to whether the low level of deductions truly reflect the actual level of services delivered. There is also evidence of the public sector forgoing entitled deductions in the ‘spirit of partnership’ and in exchange for minor contract variations in the output specification. Both the public and private sectors are undergoing a learning process which should lead to improvements in future PFI contracts.     

A holistic approach to asset management in the Netherlands

The objective of the national agency for road and water infrastructure in the Netherlands is to deliver best service to the public at lowest life cycle cost, given public acceptable risk. This requires a sound and well-structured system of management and maintenance. Such a system consists of elements such as reliable asset data, long-term performance based maintenance programmes, clear steering objectives and transparent procurement strategies. Asset management will make it possible to show what network performance can be achieved, at which costs and with which associated risks. A model defining an asset owner role, an asset manager role and a service provider role was chosen as a governing principle for the design of the asset management process. The design of the process described in the paper sets the boundary conditions to carry out projects with the minimum amount of hindrance for the user while involving the market in the best possible way.     

Modeling relational transaction and relationship quality among team members in public projects in Hong Kong

Prior studies have found that relational contracting (RC) practices are helpful in nurturing good relationships among project team members. These empirical studies, however, did not differentiate by project type (i.e., public or private projects). In reality, the situation faced in public projects would be different from that of private projects since for example, some public sector participants may be indifferent to, concerned about or indeed opposed to, building close relationships with private sector counterparts. In the context of public construction projects, this study aims to develop models to explain the association between relationship quality and the extent to which RC practices are adopted. Data were collected via a questionnaire survey in Hong Kong, China. Using Multiple Linear Regression and Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), models for predicting the relationship quality among project team members were developed. The mathematical equations were validated by a case study. The models show that the relationship quality among project team members can be predicted by the extent to which these RC practices are implemented: (i) adoption of flexible strategies; (ii) readiness to compromise on unclear issues; (iii) willingness to commit on a long-term basis; (iv) attitude towards teamwork; (v) trust among team members; (vi) sharing of project information; (vii) understanding among team members; and (viii) alignment of the objectives of different parties. The models are recommended to public clients, consultants and contractors that aim to achieve good relationships in public projects.     

Private sector participation in infrastructure projects: a methodology to analyse viability of BOT

Many developing countries are now attempting to finance new infrastructure projects through private sector participation. This paper outlines a methodology based on financial and risk analyses that a government or a government utility can use to analyse the viability of private sector participation in new infrastructure projects. The water supply projects in Sri Lanka are used for the case study to outline the methodology. Financial analyses of a bulk water supply project and a water distribution project are carried out to estimate subsidy percentages that are required to make the projects viable, using a model developed for the investment analysis of all types of infrastructure project. This analysis looks at four pricing options for the bulk supply project, and sixteen procurement options for the distribution project, from the view point of the utility, for three cases of non-revenue water (35% as base case, 50% and 25% as extreme cases). The risk analysis takes into account the risk and uncertainty in non-revenue water, cost and demand estimates, rate of debt and forecasts of escalation. These analyses show that the best option for the utility is to obtain both bulk supply and distribution projects through private sector participation using BOT arrangements.     

Implementation constraints in social enterprise and community Public Private Partnerships

Public Private Partnership (PPP) employs private sector expertise and skill to provide public goods and services. We examine three community PPP projects to identify critical success factors of the project outcomes. Two conclusions particularly stand out: first, the project must be aligned with both the public and private parties' business and service plans, and second, appropriate management structures and procedures must be established for obtaining this alignment. The latter effect recognizes the need to implement appropriate project governance practices including management discipline and expertise. We investigate these ideas further and present specific guidelines for PPP project design and implementation.     

基于风险分摊的PPP项目投资决策与收益分配研究

以公私合作模式(PPP)进行基础设施建设有利于解决政府建设资金紧张以及政府在公共投资管理上的低效问题.文章首先讨论了公私合作投资双方的投资规模上限,通过模型分析得出合作投资有利于项目总风险的降低.其次,建立了公私合作投资双方的最佳投资比例模型,讨论了PPP合作项目风险的识别以及风险科学分配方法,以建立公平的合作关系,充分调动合作双方的积极性.再次,综合考虑投资和风险因素,使用综合评价方法,给出公私双方的风险分摊系数和收益分配比例,并进行了实例分析以验证该方法的有效性.     

How (do) internal capabilities and the geography of business networks shape the performance of contractors in public procurement tenders? Evidence from the construction industry

Public procurement tenders (PPTs) represent one of the largest sources of income for construction companies; the identification of factors that could favour the winning of these projects becomes more and more interesting. Our work aims to explore how firm-specific capabilities (project management, project administration and innovation) and the geography of its business network shape the success of contractors in winning PPTs, measured as the average value of projects won by the firms. We propose an empirical study of contractors involved in public procurement projects in the construction industry in three Italian regions from 2008 to 2012 employing a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis. This methodology allows analysing how different combinations of causal conditions contribute to an outcome. Our research highlights that there are three successful strategies for firms attempting to obtain high-value PPT projects: (1) invest in high-level project management capabilities, engage in business networks with distant clients and intensify innovation capacity; (2) invest in high-level project administration capabilities, engage in business networks with local clients and suppliers (within 100 km), report a large number of certifications and show a high innovation capacity; and (3) invest in growth strategies to increase the size of the company.     

Statistical analysis of causes for change orders in metropolitan public works

The fragmentation of design and construction processes increases the likelihood change orders in conventional project procurement methods. According to the related literature and practical experience, the causes for change orders are greatly varied, thus making the task of change management difficult for most clients. In consequence, cost and time overruns are often the direct outcome of mismanagement of changes. This paper, however, argues that this undesirable situation can be minimized or avoided as long as a mechanism for handling change orders can be understood and built into project management. This paper reviews the recorded change orders in 90 metropolitan public work projects completed before the year 2000 in Taipei, Taiwan. Based on this database, the chains of events are identified and the causes for change orders are categorized. Statistical correlation and variance analysis are used to find the connection among layers of events or causes. This study further provides preliminary recommendations about project management for change orders. The finding of this paper can be used as a reference for clients in developing their project procurement strategy.     

The social procurement practices of tier-one construction contractors in Australia

Social procurement is becoming an increasingly important requirement in the delivery of private- and public- sector construction projects across the world, yet there is relatively little research done in this area. Mobilising Furneaux and Barraket’s social procurement typology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior managers from eight tier-one contractors in the Australian construction industry to explore and classify the types of social procurement strategies used in projects, the types of social value created and the barriers to implementation. Documentary data were collected in the form of company policies and contract requirements. Results demonstrate the conceptual merit of Furneaux and Barraket’s typology in a construction industry context by highlighting different constraints on social value creation for each type of social procurement. These results also indicate that approaches to social procurement in the Australian construction industry are generally driven by a philosophy of risk mitigation rather than opportunity maximisation, and are confined to low-value and low-risk construction activities and are constrained by a lack of existing and new supply chain social-value creation capacity. Construction industry social value chains are fragile in Australia, and it is concluded that in building the sector’s significant untapped capacity to deliver social value to the communities in which it builds, priority should be given to three main strategies: third sector capacity building; barrier-to-entry reduction and skills development in managing new cross-sector collaborations among public, private and third sector organisations.     

价值管理(VM)在PFI项目中的应用探讨

首先介绍了PFI项目的含义和优势,然后分析了价值管理应用在PFI项目中的两个最优切入点,即前期分析和设计阶段;随后在这两个阶段,分别从价值管理的主要任务,利益相关者的识别,价值管理方法和价值分析四个方面阐述了价值管理在PFI项目中的应用。     

Alternative approach to credit scoring by DEA: Evaluating borrowers with respect to PFI projects

Private finance initiative (PFI), as a form of public/private partnership (PPP), helps to contract the private sector to governmental projects. In contrast to traditional public financed projects, PFI projects are procured by allowing a private sector entity to take the responsibility to design, build, finance, and operate (DBFO) an asset for a contract period of up to several decades. Moreover, banks are perceived to take the leading role in financing PFI projects. Since project financing involves credit assessment of loan applicants, banks have employed popular credit scoring models to assess their creditworthiness. Although the existing models are useful for credit scoring, new models have to emerge in response to ever-changing business practices. This paper therefore aims at introducing the application of data envelopment analysis (DEA) as an alternative credit-scoring model. Unlike traditional credit-scoring building on a formula where weights to a set of criteria are assigned subjectively, DEA will automatically generate the relative weights for analysis. However, incorporating DEA demands additional considerations, which are discussed in this paper. Finally, examples are demonstrated for illustrating this alterative approach to credit scoring by DEA.     

民营企业发展BOT项目的风险管理研究:基于某污泥处理项目的案例分析

国家积极鼓励和引导民间资本投资基础设施和市政公用事业,但与国营企业相比,我国民营企业发展BOT项目还存在明显劣势,BOT项目的风险管理是民营企业的挑战。对民营企业投资的某污泥处理BOT项目出现的争议进行分析,发现该项目存在着公共部门协调能力、费用支付、项目变更、技术创新及过程控制、费用计算方式等主要风险。结合BOT项目的风险管理理论和特点、风险分担原则和目标、民营企业的常见劣势,进一步揭示民营企业在政治风险、建造风险、运营风险、市场和收益风险、金融和法律风险等方面的管理和分担失误,最后提出民营企业发展BOT项目的风险管理建议。为今后民营企业参与类似BOT项目,在风险管理方面提供参考。     

流域综合治理PPP项目政府选择社会资本方式及要求

首先分析流域综合治理PPP模式的难点,然后在收集已招标完成或处在前期采购阶段的29个案例基础上,从采购方式、PPP项目公司股权结构、对社会资本的要求以及是否接受联合体投标等四个方面进行分析。最后提出流域综合治理PPP模式宜采用竞争性磋商采购方式,政府应少量股权投入项目公司,对社会资本的要求应包括融资和专业能力等建议。