The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Office is now ready to invite tenders for three projects this year expecting investment of US$500 million for infrastructure and road communication development in the country.
Officials of the PPP Office said necessary ground works like feasibility study, viability gap study etc., were completed to get investors' confidence for these projects.
Besides, sources said five more projects are also in the pipeline and tenders in this regard are to be floated next year.
"We are hopeful to get investors for more projects as we have tried to develop these projects thoroughly to make those attractive," said Chief Executive Officer Syed Afsor H Uddin.
He said, the PPP Office will continue its support for the investors as they are to take the risks of the projects under the PPP mechanism.
Sources said the PPP Office has listed three projects to establish multimode surveillance system at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, upgrading of the Dhaka bypass to four lanes and development of economic zones at Mongla, Khulna by December.
They said of these projects, the airport project has been at a very advanced stage.
The 50-kilometre Dhaka Bypass road project is also expecting good response from the investors as it is a commercial route with huge traffic pressure.
 "Anywhere in the world, commercial structure of the PPP projects must be right and attractive. But it varies from one project to another," the CEO said when asked about getting response from the PPP investors.
He said Bangladesh has already developed a good transparent and attractive framework for attracting investors in the PPP projects.
But he said it needs to be accurate in offering 'viability gap funding', fiscal incentives and special facilities like exemption from income tax, VAT, specific regulatory relief etc., in support of the investors.
Mr Afsor said his office has been trying to develop a PPP structure for the country and give it an institutional shape with necessary framework and capacity to speed up the process of future PPP project preparation.
The officials said the PPP Office expects to launch five more projects for tourism development, flyover construction from Shantinagar to Mawa road, housing satellite project at Mirpur, senior citizens' health care and health care and hospitality complex and Sherpur economic zone for 2015.
The PPP Office was established in 2010 under the Prime Minister's Office to support sector line ministries to facilitate identification, development of PPP projects and tendering to international standards as the government could not utilise its billions of taka fund for the new ventures.
Though the PPP programme was a part of the government's Vision 2021 goal to ensure a more rapid, inclusive growth trajectory with high quality public services in a fiscally sustainable manner, it, however, could not make any PPP project attractive till 2014.
The first PPP project on health sector is likely to be signed soon.
The officials said at least two years are needed to complete preparatory ground of the PPP projects. As the PPP concept was totally new for Bangladesh, it had to take time to complete regulatory framework first and then go for the preparatory work.
The entire tender process needs another one and a half years to complete, they added.
smunima@yahoo.com