The Government of the Bahamas has established a formal policy for public private partnerships (PPP) that sets out clear definitions and terms to govern the process of identifying, screening, procuring and managing PPPs, including how to treat unsolicited proposals.

While it is not new for the Government to use PPPs to advance its policy objectives, the Government has taken responsible action to develop a formal policy and move away from the ad hoc approve of previous governments. The PPP Policy will inject a new level of transparency and accountability to the regulation of PPP projects, creating a standard set of objectives and criteria for the identification and screening of projects, for the procurement of PPP partners and the management of PPP projects. In a climate of fiscal restraint, a formal policy also ensures that the fiscal impact of all PPPs is not only well understood, but in line with the Government’s legal obligations to fiscal responsibility.

The new PPP Policy provides guidelines for reviewing unsolicited PPP proposals from the private sector; however, its primary focus is public investments that have been identified and prioritized by the Government in order to close critical infrastructure gaps that stifle medium and long-term growth and social development. The policy creates flexibility in structuring PPPs by allowing for a variety of contract types.