Publication: Unsolicited Proposals : Competitive Solutions for Private Infrastructure
Date
2002-03
ISSN
Published
2002-03
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
This Note looks at systems some
governments have used to transform unsolicited proposals for
private infrastructure projects into competitively tendered
projects. It focuses on the policies that Chile, the
Republic of Korea, the Philippines, and South Africa have
adopted for managing such proposals. A companion Note
explores the problems associated with unsolicited proposals,
especially the risks they raise for competition and
transparency. Among private infrastructure projects reaching
financial closure, the share that originated as unsolicited
proposals varies across countries. In the Philippines about
15 percent of such projects have been unsolicited, while in
the Republic of Korea the share is as high as 50 percent.
The share is also significant in many other countries, and
policymakers have begun to recognize the need for formal
systems to manage these unsolicited proposals. Governments
could use several approaches to handle unsolicited
proposals. One option is simply to adopt a law prohibiting
unsolicited projects-and some governments have done this. A
second option is for governments to purchase the project
concept and then award the project through a competitive
bidding process in which no bidder has a predefined
advantage. A third option-the one adopted in such countries
as Chile, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, and South
Africa-is to offer the original proponent a predefined
advantage in a competitive bidding process. Under this third
option two main approaches have developed: the bonus system
and the Swiss challenge system.
Citation
“World Bank. 2002. Unsolicited Proposals : Competitive Solutions for Private Infrastructure. Viewpoint. © Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/3faebba7-cad8-5404-83a8-c25d4d4b8bae License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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