We advise clients on all legal aspects of concessions, Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) transactions and private financial initiative (PFI) opportunities and projects. Those areas require lawyers who understand the right balance between the concerns of the private sector stakeholders, including the shareholders of the project company, and the needs of the public sector. Specific areas of our expertise that are of particular relevance include:
- Concession agreements and related performance regimes
- Construction agreements between public and private partners
- Joint venture, consortium and other partnering arrangements
- Public tendering, including advising on and participating in the evaluation of tenders for public contracts
- PPP/PFI in various economic sectors, including transport and social infrastructure
Relevant experience
We have gained extensive expertise in the concession area sector by rendering legal consultancy to:
- a Bulgarian ministry in all aspects of the process of performance of a concession agreement, including in the process of evaluation of the need of legislative amendments, and drafting such changes
- the biggest Bulgarian municipality on all legal aspects related to the performance and possibilities for termination of waste collection and waste disposal concessions contracts
- several multinational clients on various issues related to concessions and PPP initiatives, including a leading US international mining company among the world's largest publicly traded metal companies on matters related to natural resources concession
- several large Bulgarian municipalities on all aspects of concession regimes, including tendering, drafting concession agreements and negotiation with potential partners and concessionaires
In addition, lawyers from our firm have participated in the drafting, coordination and negotiation of the Bulgarian PPP Act (in force until January 1, 2018) by advising the Bulgarian Parliament on all aspects of the PPP/PFI legislative regime.
Our lawyers have also assisted the Bulgarian Government in the drafting of the new Concessions Act, which came into effect on January 2, 2018, implementing the concession concept and the principles of EU Directive 2014/23/EU on the Award of Concession Contracts into Bulgarian law.