Virginia P3: How Proposals Are Identified and Screened for PPP Development

Virginia began its experience with Public-Private Partnerships by passing the Virginia Public-Private Transportation Act (PPTA) of 1995, which provided the legal framework for PPPs in the transportation sector. In 2002, the Virginia legislature passed the Public-Private Educational Facilities & Infrastructure Act (PPEA) to expand the possibility of PPP procurement outside the transportation sector. The Commonwealth has had a dedicated PPP organization within the state government since 2005, the current form of which is the Virginia Office of Public-Private Partnerships (VAP3). Virginia’s approach to PPP was codified in the publication of its PPTA Implementation Manuel and Guidelines in 2005. Updates, tools, and supplemental material have been developed since then, and the PPEA Implementation Manual and Guidelines was released in 2015.

Virginia has successfully implemented major PPP projects over the past decade, including a Design-Build-Operate-Maintain contract for the Capital Beltway Express Lanes, the Downtown/Midtown Tunnel/Martin Luther King Boulevard Extension in Hampton Roads, and the Interstate 95 express lanes in 2012. Currently, VAP3 is finalizing a contract for the Interstate 66 Outside the Beltway project.

Virginia’s PPP selection process occurs in three phases: Project Identification, Project Screening, and Project Development. Solicited projects and unsolicited proposals are entertained during Project Identification. Project Screening is a two-part, high-level analysis: High-Level Screening/Policy Review and Detail-Level Screening. If proposals continue to Project Development, they will be subjected to value-for-money and risk analysis.

This webinar will seek to expand upon Virginia’s PPP selection process, especially in identification and screening. The webinar will also discuss how Virginia’s experience works within the U.S. federal, state, and local infrastructure, and how applicable this experience can be for developing economies.