PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP: CHARACTERISTICS AND DIFFERENCES FROM PUBLIC PROCUREMENТ

Рublic-private interactions have become commonplace in the economic life of many countries. Governments, state-owned enterprises and organizations use various forms and mechanisms to attract private capital to fulfill the main responsibilities of the state — the provision of socially important public services related to the development and maintenance of transport infrastructure (roads, bridges, tunnels, parking lots), water supply, social housing, telecommunications infrastructure, sewage treatment plants, museums, schools, hospitals, and in some countries even private prisons. The state turns to such an instrument of contractual agreements with private partners as public-private partnership in order to bridge the gap between available resources and funds needed to finance projects in the above areas, diversify supply, ensure optimal value for money, allocate not only costs but and risks. Using the definition of public-private partnership, which is given by authoritative international organizations, contained in the Law of Ukraine «On Public-Private Partnership» and research, the article describes the key features of public-private partnership. These are the distribution of risks, the conflict of interests of partners, the problem of agency relations, longevity. The main attention is paid to identifying the specifics of PPP from the standpoint of differences from traditional procurement. This analysis distinguishes the requirements for these two types of contracts between public and private entities and identifies factors that may lead to wrong choices and thus discourages the desire to optimize value for money in the provision of socially necessary services. Awareness of the peculiarities of PPP will contribute to the success of its future implementation and practical implementation in Ukraine.