The Impact of Public Procurement on the Implementation of Public-Private Partnerships

The public-private partnership concept has a great number of interpretations and ways in which it is defined. Perhaps Winer (2012) gives the most precise definition when he says that “a public-private partnership represents a relationship between the public and private sectors, in which the risk is shared based on joint efforts to achieve a desirable result of the public policies.” It is a form of cooperation that allows for the financing, construction, renovation, operation, and maintenance of infrastructure works and/or provision of services (Commission of the European Communities, 2008). Therefore, a public-private partnership represents a contractual relationship signed between government authorities and private enterprises whose subject is the realization of a project of public interest in which both parties contribute with certain resources, according to their abilities, and participate in the planning and decision making. The goal of a public-private partnership is the achievement of greater efficiency and easier access to capital in order to share the financial risks and the risks related to deadlines, while at the same time respecting high standards of environmental protection and employee safety (Benkovic et al., 2012).