In an aim to infuse more capital into development of mega infrastructure projects, the State Government has drafted a new Public Private Partnership (PPP) policy.
The main objective of the new policy is to create robust institutional and governance frameworks within the State to attract private sector investments in infrastructure development and promote fairness, efficiency, and transparency in the procurement and post-award administration of PPP projects.
The new policy will be applicable for development of infrastructure projects like roads, bridges, bypass, ports and harbours, airports, inland container depots and logistics hubs, industrial parks, theme parks Special Economic Zones and townships, soil waste management, power generation, health, education, urban infrastructure, tourism projects, irrigation, railways and many more.
As per the draft policy, the State Government will provide the required Viability Gap Funding (VGF) where the essential projects are commercially unviable.
A High-Level Clearance Authority (HLCA) under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister will be constituted for infrastructure projects worth Rs 500 crore or more to be implemented in PPP mode.
An Empowered Committee on Infrastructure (ECI) of a group of Secretaries will be formed under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary for facilitating infrastructure development ranging from Rs 10 crore to Rs 500 crore in the State under the PPP.
The Directorate of PPP will look after the infrastructure projects worth up to Rs 10 crore.
Besides, a District PPP Committee will be established at the district level and will be headed by the district Collector to coordinate and facilitate the implementation of infrastructure projects on the PPP route.
Focus will be given for KBK, western Odisha and mining affected districts. The existing funding avenues and institutional structures such as District Mineral Foundation (DMF) and Odisha Mineral Bearing Areas Development Corporation (OMBADC) will be leveraged for improving infrastructure in the mining affected areas subject to the interventions being aligned with the objectives of the funds and institutions.
The State administration will adopt Operations and Maintenance (O&M) contracts, Rehabilitate, Operate, Maintain and Transfer (ROMT) contracts, lease of assets etc for existing infrastructure.
For new infrastructure projects, the State will adopt several different modules like Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT), Design-Build-Finance Operate-Transfer (DBFOT) and Build-Transfer-Operate (BTO).
The draft also says that SPVs will be formed as and when required for development and implementation of infrastructure projects in PPP mode and get various clearances and permissions in the SPVs to speed up the project.
The Government is also planning to utilise the Odisha Infrastructure Development Fund (OIDF), Odisha Urban Infrastructure Development Fund (OUIDF) and Indian Infrastructure Project Development Fund (IIPDF) for development of PPP projects.
Notably, the State Government had formulated the Industrial Policy 2015 and Public Private Partnership (PPP) Policy 2007, which stressed on the role of the private sector as a driving force of growth and development in the State. Now, the IPR has been replaced with the new IPR,2022. So, the Government is now going to bring a new PPP Policy, revising the PPP Policy 2007.
