Governance and legal framework of stakeholder relations in public-private partnership contracts
Abstract
This study assesses the adequacy of Saudi Arabia’s legal and regulatory framework for public-private partnership (PPP) contracts, focusing on stakeholder relations, accountability, transparency, risk allocation, and long-term sustainability. Using a qualitative legal-institutional methodology, it combines doctrinal analysis, institutional mapping, and comparative benchmarking against selected international PPP models. The findings indicate substantial progress under Vision 2030, particularly through the Private Sector Participation (PSP) Law, stronger centralized oversight, and the expanding role of the National Center for Privatization (NCP) in tendering, monitoring, and investor procedures. However, implementation remains affected by overlapping institutional mandates, inconsistent disclosure practices, limited contractual standardization, procedural delays, and dispute-resolution mechanisms requiring greater clarity and enforceability. The study argues that effective PPP governance depends on aligning legal rules with institutional coordination, stakeholder participation, and digital life-cycle monitoring. It proposes an integrated governance-stakeholder perspective in which legal certainty, transparency, and stakeholder protection reinforce sustainable infrastructure delivery. The study concludes that further contractual standardization, stronger inter-ministerial coordination, systematic public reporting, and clearer participation and dispute-settlement mechanisms are necessary for long-term effectiveness and improved institutional accountability across project design, implementation, and operation.