The Public Sector's Perspective on Procuring Public Works Projects - Comparing the Views of Practitioners in Hong Kong and Australia

Hong Kong has been one of the early jurisdictions to adopt Public Private Partnership (PPP) model for delivering large public infrastructure projects. The development of this procurement approach in Hong Kong has followed an intricate path. As such, it is believed that there are a number of areas which are interesting to unveil. As part of a comprehensive research study looking at implementing PPPs, interviews with experienced local industrial practitioners from the public sector were conducted to realize their perspective on the topic of procuring public works projects. Amongst these interviews, fourteen were launched government officials and advisers. The interview findings show that the majority of the Hong Kong and Australian interviewees had previously conducted some kind of research in the field of PPP. Both groups of interviewees agreed that “PPPs gain private sector's added efficiency/expertise/management skills” when compared to projects procured traditionally. Also, both groups of interviewees felt that projects best suited to use PPP are those that have an “Economic business case”. The interviewees believed that “Contractor's performance” could be used as key performance indicators for PPP projects. A large number of critical success factors were identified by the interviewees for PPP projects; two of these were similar for both groups of interviewees. These included “Project objectives well defined” and “Partnership spirit/commitment/trust”. Finally it was found that in‐house guidance materials were more common in the organizations of the Australian interviewees compared to the Hong Kong ones. This paper studies the views of the public sector towards the topic of PPPs in Hong Kong and Australia, which helps to answer some of the queries that both academics and the private sector in these jurisdictions are keen to know. As a result the private sector can be more prepared when negotiating with the public sector and realise their needs better, academics on the other hand are provided a wider perspective of this topic benefiting the research industry at large. Santrauka Honkongas vienas pirmuju idiege viešojo ir privataus sektoriaus partnerystes modeli vykdant stambius visuomeninius in‐frastruktūros projektus. Jo pletra Honkonge buvo sudetinga. Yra gana daug sričiu, kurias būtu idomu aptarti. Kaip sudetinio viešojo ir privataus sektoriaus partnerystes igyvendinimo tyrimo dalis atlikta vietiniu pramonininku iš viešojo sektoriaus apklausa del viešuju darbu pirkimu perspektyvu. Tarp apklaustuju buvo keturiolika vyriausybes pareigūnu ir patareju. Apklausos rezultatai parode, kad daugelis respondentu iš Honkongo ir Australijos yra anksčiau atlike tyrimus viešojo bei privataus sektoriaus partnerystes srityje. Abi respondentu grupes sutiko, kad viešojo ir privataus sektoriaus bendradarbiavimo projektai yra pranašesni efektyvumu, kompetencija ir valdymo gebejimais, lyginant su tradiciniais pro‐jektais. Taip pat abi respondentu grupes nurode, kad viešojo ir privataus sektoriaus partneryste labiau tinka verslo eko‐nominiu projektu atveju. Respondentai mano, kad svarbiausias viešojo ir privataus sektoriaus partnerystes projektams yra rangovus apibūdinantis rodiklis. Respondentai išskyre daug viešojo ir privataus sektoriaus partnerystes projektu kritiniu sekmes veiksniu. Du iš ju yra bendri abiem apklaustuju grupems. Tai gerai apibrežti projekto tikslai ir bendradarbiavimo dvasia, isipareigojimai, tarpusavio pasitikejimas. Galiausiai nustatyta, kad vidaus valdymas yra paprastesnis Australijos apklaustose organizacijose, lyginant su Honkongo respondentais. Šiame straipsnyje nagrinejamas viešojo sektoriaus požiūris i viešojo ir privataus sektoriaus partneryste Honkonge ir Australijoje. Tyrimas gali padeti atsakyti i klausimus, kylančius tiek akademiniame, tiek privačiame sektoriuje. Tad privatus sektorius gali geriau pasiruošti deryboms su viešuoju sektoriumi, geriau suprasti ju poreikius. Moksliniam sektoriui suteikiamos platesnes šios srities tyrimu perspek‐tyvos.