In early July the PPP Agency alongside with key public agencies of Ukraine participated in a webinar by on the case study of the PPP project on financing, reconstruction and management of the Adem Yashari International Airport in Prishtina, Kosovo. The webinar was courtesy of the training and consulting company PPP Expertise Eurasia (UK) that previously had delivered the Certified PPP Professional (CP3P) training in Ukraine and other countries from Europe and Central Asia.
The webinar was attended by more than 40 PPP specialists from Central Executive Bodies and local governments of Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
The keynote speaker of the webinar was an experienced, CP3P APMG certified PPP specialist Ilir Rama, former Director of the PPP Central Department (PPP unit) at the Ministry of Finance of Kosovo and now an accredited CP3P trainer with PPP Expertise Eurasia. The moderator of the webinar was Serhiy Samolis, CEO of PPP Expertise Eurasia.
Ilir Rama shared his experience in preparing and implementing the Adem Yashari International Airport Development Project in Pristina, Kosovo, at various stages of the PPP project life cycle, including the following aspects:
- the state of the Kosovo PPP framework at the time of the airport PPP project consideration and assessment;
- prerequisites and basic requirements for infrastructure and performance indicators of the airport;
- justification of the PPP choice as the best mechanism for project implementation;
- features and limitations of the process of evaluation (feasibility study) of the PPP project, as well as the competitive bidding process and the PPP agreement signing;
- peculiarities of PPP project implementation and and assessment of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the project development.

Key conclusions and recommendations
Key conclusions on the airport PPP project preparation and implementation:
- the project must comply with the strategy of the relevant state body;
- public authorities must have a sufficient level of institutional capacity and experience in the successful implementation of PPP projects;
- the right of veto for the implementation of the PPP project in the Ministry of Finance has a critical role for the PPP project;
- it is important to study the market for interest, consult with potential investors and determine the opinion of the private sector at the stage of preparation of the PPP project;
- it is important to consult with all stakeholders and identify all environmental and social risks of the project to mitigate their impact on the PPP project;
- an important prerequisite for the implementation of the PPP project is the stability and favorable PPP framework in the country.
Ilir Rama also shared some recommendations on the need for:
- early start of systematic planning of the PPP project from the project idea;
- guaranteed availability of sufficient institutional capacity of the public sector;
- mandatory hiring of reliable and professional advisors and an Independent Engineer;
- creation or hiring of a qualified PPP contract management team;
- guaranteeing the transparency of the competition process (transparent SMART criteria for determining the winner of the competition);
- flexibility of the terms of the PPP agreement to reduce the need to review and change the terms, re-negotiation and dispute resolution;
- in fact a public sector partnership approach to the project.
For reference:
Contract structure – DBFOT (Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer).
Contract duration – 20 years.
Contact cost – more than Eur100M.
Minimum performance and capacity levels – IATA “C” level of service.
Concession fee – regular payments in the form of a percentage of gross revenues – award criteria.