Desislava Terzieva: The purpose of the repeal of the Law of the PPP is to facilitating business and to strengthen the investment process

According to Terzieva the purpose of the repeal of the PPP Act is to facilitate the business and to strengthen the investment process. “The Act itself refers to a very long procedure, which completion would take a long time. This Act, instead of facilitating the investors, impedes additionally the investment process”. 

 

Among the reasons is the fact that a year and a half since it was passed, the law has not been applied. 

 

An analysis of the Ministry of Regional Development found that the PPP Act is unnecessary drafted, Terzieva said. It refers to small sites of municipal infrastructure such as car parks, garages, surveillance and security systems, street lighting, landscaping, parks, gardens and more. On large infrastructure sites, especially for the national road network, the Concessions Act is applied, as required by the Constitution. Regarding airports, ports and other major infrastructure projects there are special acts that require adopting only and explicitly concession procedures as way of management. 

 

The existing acts on obligations and contracts, concessions, state property, municipal property in practice govern the order in which they can create such PPPs, Terzieva said. 

 

The Minister noted that given the new EC directives package on public procurement and concessions, we should start transposing the new directives this year. This would allow implementing in the exiting acts some more alleviating conditions for establishing PPP. A new investment act is under preparation.  

Finally, Terzieva said that there is no legal impediment to creating public-private partnerships even after repealing PPP Act.