Procurement Processes and Bidding Documents

Where PPP projects involve funding from the World Bank, then the World Bank Procurement Guidelines and Procedures will apply. This section also includes useful template bidding documents.

Most of the international finance institutions (IFI) have similar guidelines for procurement for projects to which they are providing funding. For guidelines for various IFIs, click on ADB Procurement Guidelines, EBRD Procurement Policies and Rules, IDB Procurement Policies and Procedures.

Where PPP projects involve private financing only, a number of countries and PPP units within those countries have developed standard form procurement procedures and guidelines for PPP projects, which take into account local applicable procurement law. This is in recognition of the complexity surrounding PPP projects involving project finance in particular.

For examples of different procurement laws/ regimes see Procurement Laws.

Go to chapter 4 of the World Bank Concession Toolkit for a description of the main types of procurement processes available for PPP projects involving private financing only and issues awarding authorities to consider.

The report Procuring Infrastructure Public-Private Partnerships flags potential improvements that can help governments fill the gap in an effort to provide better PPP procurement and enable better infrastructure service delivery to all while the Discussion Paper Bidding for Private Concessions - The Use of World Bank Guarantees (pdf) provides guidance on issues that need to be considered before and during the bidding process.

Find other helpful resources in:

• Procurement Laws

• Standardized Bidding Documents and Guidelines

• Draft Guidelines and Bidding Documents

• Examples of Project Bidding Documents

• Unsolicited Proposals

• Checklists

• Further Reading

Draft Guidelines and Bidding Documents

The World Bank Procurement Regulation for IPF Borrowers - the Annex XIV of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers outlines the requirements to be met by Borrowers in selecting the private partner in public-private partnership (PPP) arrangements financed by the Bank.

Examples of Project Bidding Documents

The World Bank Standard Procurement Documents (SPD):

Plant:

• Initial Selection
• Request for Proposal (RFP)

Design, Build and Operate (Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants)- these documents can be customized for other sectors such as power, infrastructure:

• Initial Selection (similar to RFQ- Request for Qualification/pre-qualification documents used in PPP)
• Request for Proposal (RFP)

Canada

• Vancouver Airport - Rapid Transit Link
• Britannia Mine Wastewater Project

Checklists

• UK Treasury Taskforce Technical Note 4: How to Appoint and Work with a Preferred Bidder (pdf)

Further Reading

• Economic Commission for Europe Declaration on a Zero Tolerance Approach to Corruption in Public-Private Partnerships Procurement
• PPP Procurement Benchmarking
• A Guide to Public Procurement in CEE by Allen & Overy, 2011.
• European Commission - Guidelines for Successful Public-Private Partnerships, Resource Book on PPP Studies
• UN/ ECE - Guidelines for Promoting Good Governance in Public-Private Partnerships (2008)