TITLE:
Public-Private Partnerships in Cambodia: Issues and Solution
AUTHORS:
Bun Eang Sar, Meyka Chea, Chanpisey Ung
KEYWORDS:
PPP, Ad-Hoc Arrangement, PPP Framework, Infrastructure, Contingent Liability
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Business and Management,
Vol.8 No.3,
May
22,
2020
ABSTRACT: The projects via Public-Private Partnership (PPP) have been implemented
in Cambodia since the decade 1993 mostly in energy sector using Build-Ope- rate-Transfer
(BOT) and Build-Own-Operate (BOO) Models where the procurement method followed
an ad-hoc arrangement, absence of clear rule and regulation as well as unclear
institutional responsibility to procure, manage, and monitor these projects.
Lacking rule and regulation as well as non-clear enabling PPP policy caused
many disadvantages for the public sector in implementing PPP projects. Nearly
all the projects are unsolicited proposals and have been selected by using an
ad-hoc arrangement and direct negotiation. The ad-hoc procedure not only
transfers many risks to the government especially in term of financial risk—unforeseen
contingent liability—due to no proper reviewing on the project proposal and
contract term, but also the project implementation and monitoring mechanism is
unclear, and no efficient. However, Cambodia still considers using PPP as the
best alternative option of financing on infrastructure development. This is
because, on the one hand, the demand of infrastructures has been gradually
increased notably in road sector while the
government budget is limited, and on the other hand, PPP brings the innovation
and increases the quality of infrastructure or service and provides better
value-for-money. That is why, in order to successfully prepare and manage PPP
projects in the current context of economy growth, Cambodia established an
enabling PPP policy, and standard operation procedure (SOP), and also proposed the PPP law to
govern, promote and facilitate in the manner
of effectiveness, efficiency, transparency, fairness and accountability of PPP
projects. This paper aimed at raising the challenges of implementing PPP
projects without comprehensive PPP framework.