Introduction of Qatar Public and Private Partnership Law No.12 of 2020

Law No. 12 of 2020 Organising the Partnership between the Public and Private Sector (the PPP Law) was issued on 31 May 2020. The PPP Law will apply after its publication in the Official Gazette.

The Qatar Ministry of Commerce and Industry (the MoCI) issued a summary of the main highlights and provisions of the PPP Law.

Below is a summary of the MoCI report

The main purpose of the PPP Law is to organise agreements between public bodies and the private sector to execute, finance or the provision of a service by entering into one of the following arrangements:

• allocation of land to be developed by the private sector by means of lease or granting a usufruct right;
• (Build – Operation - Transfer) B.O.T arrangements;
• (Build – Transfer - Operation) B.T.O arrangements;
• (Build – Own – Operate - Transfer) B.O.O.T arrangements;
• (Operation and Maintenance) O & M arrangements;
• any other arrangements as may be determined by the Council of Ministers.

The objectives of the PPP Law are:

• develop the ability of the Qatar private sector and encourage competition and increase the role and participation of the private sector in the development of the local economy;

• encourage the public sector to adapt new strategies to manage national projects in a way that will assist in decreasing public expenditure and in developing efficiencies in completing and utilising projects.

Some of the benefits of the PPP Law as set out in the MoCI report are to:

• diversify, distribute, and decrease the risk allocation;
• utilise specialised expertise to operate projects;
• enhance the disclosure/transparency policies and supervision processes for management of resources;
• encourage the private sector to participate in projects that invest in the development of the Qatar economy;
• encourage competition and provide consumer protection from monopoly priorities;
• enhance the ability to obtain financing for projects;
• increase the credit ratings of projects by further developing the financing regimes and achieving better tax returns;
• profit from shareholders influence to increase negotiation and reach better standards of doing business;
• strengthen the partnership and co-operation between the large, small and medium size enterprises and the public sector;
• operate projects on the basis of economic standards that will result in social and economic gains;
• limit the issuing of exemptions from applicable laws or rules similar to the Tender Law and the Law Organising the State Monetary Policies.

The MoCI report also included a summary of the mechanics of how the PPP Law will function and how partnerships between the Public and the Private sector may be entered into and executed.

More information will follow once the PPP Law is published in the Official Gazette and its full text is available.

The issuing of the PPP Law comes after a number of tenders issued in Qatar this year that adopted PPP type structures including, the establishment of eight new public schools and the building and operation of parking areas in West Bay Doha.

The discussions for having a PPP Law started 13 years ago and at one point Simmons & Simmons Doha office was invited to advice the MoCI, but the drafting of the law was put on hold. The need for a PPP regime surfaced again in 2014 – 2015 and the MoCI appointed local and international advisors that assisted with the drafting of the PPP Law and drafting PPP agreements that are being used and attached to tenders issued by the Qatar Public Work Authority.

This is definitely an interesting development for the Qatari market and may lead to new opportunities.

The Simmons & Simmons Doha office, in collaboration with colleagues in the London office, are well positioned for any PPP transaction. We have a full team in Qatar who can advise on the Qatar law aspects PPP structure and PPP agreements, construction contracts, corporate structures and commercial agreements, and project financing.

Contact us if you have any PPP related questions.