The Abu Dhabi Investment Office, ADIO, has issued new public-private partnership, PPP, procurement regulations and published the Partnership Projects Guidebook to support greater collaboration between the private and public sectors in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The robust PPP procurement framework is consistent with international best practice to support greater private sector investment in the procurement and delivery of public sector infrastructure assets and services across Abu Dhabi.

The new regulations, which come under Abu Dhabi’s 2019 Public-Private Partnership Law (Law No. 2 of 2019), provide greater clarity to the private sector in regard to engaging with the government during the procurement and development phase of any major PPP project, ADIO said in a statement.

The regulations follow the Abu Dhabi Government’s announcement earlier this year to procure approximately AED10 billion worth of infrastructure partnership projects across a range of sectors, including education, transport and municipality. The announcement was made as part of Ghadan 21, Abu Dhabi’s accelerator programme, which is driving the emirate’s development through investing in business, innovation and people.

Implementation of the Partnership Projects framework will be carried out by ADIO’s Infrastructure Partnerships unit, which collaborates with government departments to identify, develop and procure infrastructure partnership projects.

Dr. Tariq Bin Hendi, Director General of ADIO, said, "Efficient and effective collaboration between the public and private sectors is at the heart of Abu Dhabi’s long-term economic strategy. ADIO’s role is to encourage the deployment of private sector expertise, efficiencies and innovation in the emirate’s major infrastructure projects. We welcome investors seeking to partner with the government to bring ambitious projects to life here."

In addition to the regulations, ADIO has also published the Partnership Projects Guidebook, which encompasses a practical and comprehensive overview of the processes and procedures for the development, procurement and management of partnership projects in Abu Dhabi to support public and private sector entities in delivering projects in a transparent, timely and efficient manner.

The guidebook will help improve the ease of doing business with the public sector by providing developers, investors and financiers with a single, trusted source of information when assessing, bidding and executing projects. It covers procurement procedures, as well as best practice approaches to promote effective partnerships between government and private sector stakeholders.

Mohamed Al Dhaheri, Head of ADIO’s Infrastructure Partnerships, said: "Formalising our PPP procurement framework is a significant milestone for ADIO and allows us, with confidence, to focus on accelerating the issuing of tenders and the delivery of major projects. Our role is to facilitate long-term and sustainable partnerships between the public and private sectors, with the aim of providing investment opportunities for the private sector, delivering improved public sector infrastructure and services to Abu Dhabi’s residents, and creating employment opportunities."

ADIO is the central authority responsible for the development and procurement of all infrastructure projects delivered through a PPP model in Abu Dhabi, in line with its mandate to support private sector investment.

Earlier this year, ADIO facilitated its first partnership project under the new Partnership Projects framework. The Noor Abu Dhabi Street Lighting PPP project, which involves designing, supplying, retrofitting, financing, operating and maintaining approximately 43,000 luminaires with power-saving state-of-the-art sustainable LED-based technology, is expected to save enough energy to power 8,000 homes.

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