If you buy one – make sure you can return it!

Components of P3s

According to the Public-Private Partnerships (P3s) office of Industry Canada, there are seven (7) major functions of P3s:

design, building, financing, operation and maintenance, leaseback, transfer and ownership.

The more classical P3 model, however, consists essentially of the first four (4) components (design, building, financing, and operation and maintenance), defined as follows:

• Design – Private sector develops the design to meet its own (profit oriented) contractual obligation.  For service, the public sector would set the goals and the private sector would develop the strategies to meet these goals.
• Building – Private sector builds the facility, but more often than not, non-union labour is utilized to do the work.
• Financing – Private financial sources are used to finance the project and the private sector would own the project during the term of the contract or more.
• Operation and Maintenance – Private sector operates the facility or service and charges the general public a high fee for usage.  Moreover, employees are often private sector workers with reduced or non-union protection.