Egypt’s finance ministry has finalized proposed amendments to few provisions of the public-private partnership (PPP) act, which were already ratified by the cabinet and passed to the State Council for legal review, attempting to streamline procedures in this regard, Invest-Gate reports.

Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said the draft law also endeavors to speed-up issuing tenders for PPP projects and introduce new mechanisms when contracting with the private sector, in a bid to achieve goals sustainable development, according to a cabinet statement on June 19.

Maait went on to list the proposed amendments, noting, “Private players would be allowed to submit unsolicited proposals and then the government will negotiate directly with a sole bidder, without needing to take the project through the competitive bidding process.”

Such entities will also be able to take on a wider scope of work, especially when it comes to infrastructure, public services, and utility developments. In addition, a specialized joint committee will be formed with representatives of the finance and planning ministries, alongside the PPP central unit, to assess project proposals and determine ventures that can be executed under the PPP program, the minister revealed.

Back on December 20, the finance ministry first submitted the proposal to the cabinet for approval and has been under evaluation since then, according to an earlier press release.