Government approves draft law on private-public partnership

The Government Wednesday approved the draft law on public-private partnership worked out by the Ministry of Economy and Trade, Info-Prim Neo reports. The bill is designed to contribute to attracting private investments for implementing projects of public interest. It is also intended to improve the quality and enhance the efficiency of the services, public works and other activities of public interest, and to contribute to the efficient use of the public patrimony and public money. The public-private partnership is a cooperation relationship between the authorities and the private sector as regards the conceding of public property for implementing projects. The public-private partnership activities can aim at making profit, as any other business, or they can be non-profit as for instance the social services or the activities organised to maintain the parks. According to the authorities, the public-private partnership is needed in Moldova as many services among which the public utilities, public transport, telecommunications services and others are not of the adequate quality owing to the old technologies, poor management etc. The Government commits itself to create equal conditions for all the bidders at any stage of the process of selecting the private partner and in the process of implementing the public partnership. Under the bill, the Government must approve the list of facilitates that are state property and property of the central public authorities and will be used in the public-private partnership. The local or district council will approve the list of facilities that are property of the territorial-administrative units and will be used in the public-private partnership. The public-private partnership will be implemented through the following legal forms: contract for the provision of services; fiduciary administration contract; lease/rent contract; concession contract; companionship contract etc. The bill stipulates the rights and obligations of the parties in any of the above-mentioned contracts. If one of the parties violates the stipulations of the contract or is unable to fulfill the contractual obligations, the other party has the right to terminate the contract by amicable way or through court.