The role of Unsolicited Proposals in developing Public Infrastructure: An Empirical Study

Abstract

Infrastructure development is one of the major indicators of growth of a nation. While governments across developing countries have explored various options for efficient and speedy development of their country's infrastructure, there exist many gaps which need further attention. To overcome these gaps, most of the countries are increasingly looking forward for the private sector participation for development of public infrastructure and services. Involving private sector through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) offers a promising alternative to conventional public procurement methods for financing mega infrastructure projects.

In any Conventional method of project development, the conceptualization, designing and planning of an infrastructure project is undertaken by the government. However, a private sector entity may also take the initiative for designing projects for development of social infrastructure in-line with the government’s suo moto thought process. The proposals put forth by private sector other than the conventional route undergoing Request for Proposal (RFP), and Request for Quotation (RFQ) for development of public infrastructure are commonly known as unsolicited proposals (USPs).

This paper discusses the positive and negative side of USPs and investigates the roles and requirement of USPs in developing public infrastructure for addressing the fast growing infrastructural gaps, mostly in developing countries. This paper also highlights various methods of procurement of USPs and discusses its impact on various stakeholders. It mainly focuses on specific countries like Chile, Philippines and India where USPs are regarded as a tool for infrastructure development in many areas.