Privépartner

Privépartner is the partner from the private sector in a public-private partnership (PPP). In PPP projects, a government or public authority collaborates with a private entity to deliver public infrastructure or services. The privéepartner is typically responsible for financing, building, operating, and maintaining the project over a defined concession period. The private partner may receive payments from the public sector (availability payments) or generate revenue from user fees or tariffs, often subject to performance-based standards. A private partner often forms an SPV (special purpose vehicle) to carry out the project and to obtain financing from banks or capital markets. Common contract forms include concessions, design-build-finance-operate (DBFO) agreements, and build-operate-transfer models, with risk transfer from the public to the private partner in areas such as construction, performance, and demand risk.

Procurement generally proceeds through competitive bidding, with evaluation criteria focusing on value for money, lifecycle costs, and risk allocation. Proponents argue that privépartners can bring efficiency, private sector expertise, faster delivery, and improved service quality, while critics point to long-term fiscal commitments, potential for higher costs, and complexity or reduced transparency.

In practice, privépartners operate across sectors such as transportation, energy, water, and healthcare infrastructure. The term is used primarily in European PPP documentation and in multilingual contexts where "privé" denotes private sector involvement.

See also: Public-private partnership, Concession, Infrastructure finance, SPV.