RIYADH — The competent Saudi authorities have taken a decision recently that if any government agencies wish to carry out work or secure purchases related to infrastructure or public service projects worth SR200 million or more, such projects will be referred to the National Center for Privatization (NCP). This is prior to offering these projects for implementation or starting procedures to conclude or renew or extend the contract for carrying out the project. The new regulation will come into force from the beginning of the year 2024, Okaz/Saudi Gazette has learnt from informed sources. The center will conduct an initial study on the suitability of implementing the project through privatization. It was also decided by the authorities that those projects that the government agencies wish to transfer ownership of their assets related to infrastructure or public services to the private sector at a value of SR50 million will also be referred to the NCP. The estimated value of infrastructure projects or public services projects that are meant for implementation or securing purchases will be calculated on the basis of the expected nominal value throughout the duration of the project implementation. The calculation will be made by the government entity, which is legally concerned with the project, with realizing the minimum in any of the capital and operational expenditures related to the project, in addition to adding to it the value of state-owned assets over which the private party grants any rights, as well as the transfer of ownership of the assets, apart from the estimated financial obligations incurred by the state's public treasury, and the financial revenues expected to be obtained by the government. As for projects to transfer ownership of assets related to infrastructure or public service to any government agency, their calculation shall be based on the value estimated by the government agency concerned with the project's system for the assets whose ownership is to be transferred to the private party. It is noteworthy that the National Center for Privatization is responsible for enabling the privatization program, which is identified as a priority in realizing the Saudi Vision 2030. As a world-class center of excellence, NCP provides assistance in formulating regulations, creating privatization frameworks, and preparing government assets and services identified for privatization to ensure quality outcomes. NCP is developing the privatization pipeline, which includes proposing sectors and government assets and services that could either be privatized or improved through private sector participation. The NCP team includes experts in the areas of legal, financial, advisory, strategy, communication, risk management, marketing, and project management as well as experts in the full spectrum of private sector participation.
