Public Private Partnerships and possibilities of their using in the field of Ministry of Agriculture

Abstract

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are based on co-operation between the public and private sector. The reason for using it is a lack of public financial sources. For this reason, in most PPPs the management and financing of the project is entrusted to the private sector. In the Czech Republic, the widest development area for PPPs in the scope of the Ministry of Agriculture is probably water supply. The further areas for using of PPPs in the scope of this Ministry are the following: forestry, flood protection, adjustment of water flow, security of water sources, builging of the strategic foodstuff store. Important attempts have been made within the last year to increase the implementation of PPPs in water supply. These attempts are based on operation models similar to the BOT (Build Operate Transfer) and the DBFO (Design Build Finance Operate). In addition, the Czech Parliament adopted a law No. 139/2006 Coll., on concessions procedure and concession treaty which entered into force in July, 1<sup>st</sup>, 2006 and which brings the legal framework for realisation of the PPPs. There are some legal barriers which limited wide using of the PPPs. It is in the case of public-private venture companies (the limitation is  in public procurement law). Public-private venture companies – which refer to the situation where both the private and the public sector holds equity, and, consequently, the company is controlled by the private as well as the public sector – should be the ideal form of PPPs in the areas which are in the scope of the Ministry of Agriculture.