Bilans d’évènement
Public Private Partnerships conference
March 22nd 2022
Doha, Qatar. March 22nd, 2022. The Economic Department of the French Embassy in Qatar, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the French Business Council hosted a conference on Public-Private Partnerships. The event, that associated also the Qatar Ministry of Finance and Ashghal, was the occasion for French and Qatari public stakeholders to share their views on PPPs and for the French companies to present their experience on these projects.
The Assistant Undersecretary for Commerce Affairs at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, His Excellency Mr. Saleh AL-KHULAIFI, who opened the conference, underlined the key importance of PPPs for Qatar. The Ambassador of France in Doha, His Excellency Jean-Baptiste FAIVRE, also praised this bilateral initiative, underlining that “France is eager to develop a close cooperation in PPPs with Qatar in the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding signed on the occasion of the visit in Doha of the French President Emmanuel Macron last December”.
After Mr. Jaber Monaikher AL-MARRI’s presentation of the PPPs framework in Qatar, Nicolas VITAL, Project Director at the Legal Hub of the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Recovery, presented the strengths of the PPP model in France, and the financial structuring of these projects.
The conference was made of two panels. In the first one, dedicated to the building of a successful PPP Project in Qatar, three important French private actors operating in PPPs shared their expertise. Savio Tohme, Senior PPP Developer for ENGIE Energy Solutions Middle East, explained the reasons why a PPP might be a better solution for the State “as it is really a project delivery model, transforming the government from an owner of infrastructure assets to a qualitative service provider, including a higher level of technical complexity, design innovation, and faster delivery. PPP projects can therefore have many benefits other than liquidity or financing. ” Then, the question of financing PPP projects was handled by Aymen KOUBAA, Director - Project finance & advisory, Energy, power & infrastructure representative for Middle-East at SOCIETE GENERALE, who gave an insight of the market update and key drivers. Thierry Dezenclos, President of the French foreign trade advisers (CCEF) section in Doha finally presented the issues surrounding the co-elaboration of PPPs.
The implementation of a successful PPP in Qatar was tackled in a second panel, in which Laure HILZENKOPP, Project Director at the Financial Hub of the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Recovery presented the criteria according to which the adjudicator can have adequate operational monitoring in a PPP project. EGIS, represented by his Managing Director in Qatar Thomas BIECHE, illustrated the way to ensure the best synergies in terms of construction and operation, as well as the question of transmission of assets when ending a PPP.
PPPs are key to accelerating the transition towards a carbon-neutral economy, through reduced energy consumption and more environmentally friendly integrated solutions, with performance obligations and financing. Laurent FUREDI, Managing Director of ENGIE in Qatar explained: “ ENGIE can be a strategic partner, on a long-term perspective, to achieve ambition towards carbon neutrality and improve the overall life of citizens and customers.”
In her conclusive remarks, Sandrine LESCAROUX, Managing Director of the French Business Council, praised the insightful presentations delivered by the French companies and mentioned her wish to see “the French value chain stand beside Qatar in the ambitious PPPs projects that are to be implemented in the future. The dialogue initiated by this conference should be continued by further and deeper exchanges between Qatari and French companies”
