Examination of roles performed by public sector organizations in the procurement of public-private partnership projects

Abstract

PurposeThe clarity of requisite roles of public sector organizations (PSOs) for successful procurement of public-private partnership (PPP) infrastructure in Nigeria is not well-established as the country is portrayed with the rising statistics on the haphazard pattern of operation of PPP model for infrastructure procurement. This has greatly beset the expected performance of a number of PPP projects which were intended to bridge the infrastructural deficit in the country. This study therefore examined roles the performed by PSOs in PPP infrastructure procurement with a view to delineate PSOs obligations and consequently improve project success.Design/methodology/approachThe study was based on structured questionnaire survey of professionals in PSOs who have been involved in PPP infrastructure procurement in Southwestern Nigeria. The sampled professionals were drawn from a build-up of network through a referral chain by the adoption of respondent-driven sampling (RDS) method. The data collected were subjected to mean score analysis and Kruskal–Wallis test.FindingsThe study found that roles pertaining to management of variation, apportionment of penalties and abatements, select preferred bidders, establish management approaches for PPP risks are infrequently performed by PSOs in Nigeria. Whereas these roles are critical to successful procurement of PPP infrastructure as they are prerequisites for PPP infrastructural project success.Originality/valueThe study provides information that would be useful for developing countries with evolving PPP markets for enhanced project delivery.