Slovak PPP Association created

The Role of the Slovak PPP Association 31 March 2008
About forty private companies joined forces last year and established the Slovak PPP Association in order to support public-private partnership projects in Slovakia. The members are financial, consulting, construction, technological or law companies, many of which have international PPP know-how. The Association aims to participate in the creation of favourable conditions for the development and implementation of PPP projects in Slovakia, stir discussion on the various forms and potential areas of PPP schemes application and act as a partner for the public sector in all matters regarding PPP.
Despite being a late-comer with respect to public-private partnerships (PPPs) compared to neighbouring countries such as the Czech Republic or Hungary, two major PPP infrastructure projects – the D1 Motorway and the R1 Expressway - are currently under tenders in Slovakia and more PPP projects seem likely to emerge in the near future in various areas, such as sports, culture, waste treatment or healthcare. The Ministry of Education is currently considering a major PPP project – a multifunctional ice-hockey stadium, which should be built in Bratislava latest by the end of 2010. Smaller PPP projects are under discussion in a number of Slovak regions and cities.
The Slovak government officially declared support for PPP projects in its Program Declaration in 2006 and created a PPP Department at the Ministry of Finance, which is providing the public sector with advice as well as partial funding of the preparatory and advisory costs from the EU Structural Funds.
Because of the relatively little experience with PPPs in Slovakia, the success of the first pilot PPP projects will be crucial in increasing trust and popularity of PPPs. The Slovak PPP Association intends to contribute to the creation of such conditions for PPPs in Slovakia, which will enable both value-for-money as well as high quality services for citizens.
Irma ChmelováExecutive Director Slovak PPP Associationwww.asociaciappp.sk