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5.2. Public-Private Partnerships in Germany
5.2.1. Use of PPPs
The federal government has historically used PPPs to a very limited extent. However,
it has harvested the benefits of other countries’ experiences with regards to how it
procures, manages and accounts for PPPs. The German governance framework for PPPs is
a clear example of good practice and will be discussed further below. 
Box 12.
Federal Budget Code
Section 24 – Construction measures, major procurements, major development projects
1) Expenditures and commitment appropriations for construction measures may not be
budgeted until plans, cost calculations and explanations are available showing the type of
work, the cost of the construction measures, of the land transfer and of the installations,
as well as the proposed method of financing and a time schedule. An estimate of the
annual burdens on the budget which will be incurred after completion of the measure
shall be enclosed with these documents.
2) Expenditures and commitment appropriations for major procurements and
development projects may not be budgeted until plans and estimates of the costs and cost
sharing are available. Subsection 1), second sentence, above shall apply accordingly.
3) Exceptions to subsections 1) and 2) above shall only be permissible if, in an individual
case, it is not possible to complete the documents on time and if the Federation would sustain
any disadvantage from a postponement of budgeting. The need for an exception shall be
substantiated in the explanatory notes. Expenditures and commitment appropriations
relating to measures for which no documents are yet available shall be blocked.
4) Subsections 1) to 3) above shall be applied accordingly to separately budgeted
expenditures and commitment appropriations relating to allocations if a total of more
than 50 percent of the costs is covered by allocations from the Federation, 
Länder
and
municipalities. The Federal Ministry of Finance may permit exceptions.

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The federal budget provides a clear overview of federal PPP projects in an annex to the
budget documentation. The annex lists the project, the expected cost for the budget year,
three out years and the total accumulated cost of the contract. PPPs at the federal level are
mainly used for the federal highway sector. There are currently 18 projects with total
expenditures of EUR 23 461 million and six projects are making their way through the
pipeline currently. There is no particular reporting requirement for PPP projects at the sub-
national level, but according to the database operated by Partnerships Germany
(Partnerschaften Deutschland-ÖPP Deutschland AG),
a total of 187 building and engineering PPPs
are in operation as of the end of April 2013. The total volume of these contracts is
approximately EUR 7.5 billion. Build-transfer-operate models are the most common type of
PPPs in Germany. Given the size of the German economy this constitutes a modest PPP
programme as of now.