The administrative court of Marseille has ruled against a proposed public-private partnership (PPP) scheme to deliver 34 new schools across the city, valued at EUR1 billion (US$1.13 billion).

A tender for the first phase of the project, covering 14 schools to be split between two private partners, was launched in April 2018. The city government intended to select proponents in early 2019.

In its entirety, the scheme envisages the demolition of 31 now-obsolete school buildings constructed in the 1960s and their replacement by 28 new schools, as well as the construction of six additional institutions, in six years.

Appeals against the PPP scheme were brought to court by a citizen collective "Marseille against PPPs", citing that renovation conducted directly by public authorities would save EUR300 million (US$338.9 million).

The collective also presented a petition signed by more than 11,300 people that oppose the project.

The city government has already announced its intention to appeal the ruling, stating that financial analysis of the project concluded that a PPP scheme was “the most efficient contractual formula”, representing a saving of more than EUR61 million (US$68.9 million) compared with traditional procurement.

This contrasts the court’s judgement that the government failed to demonstrate that a PPP scheme would result in a more favourable balance sheet than other procurement models.