General contracting versus PCM: the italian way

The paper intends to explain how Italy has interpreted, since 2001, the third type of European tender procedure introducing (through law 443 known as “legge obiettivo”) the role of “contraente generale”, improperly translated as general contractor. And how it has applied it to some 15 major contracts which have been let out so far without yet proper monitoring. The objective is to demonstrate that the Italian way, compared with other European examples, lacks a clear transfer of risks and allocation of tasks. Methodology: Comparison between the Italian frame of reference and the content of the best specialised literature available abroad. Results: Recommendations on how to improve the Italian approach (adapting it to the new European directives) in order to better fit within the ppp framework including the adoption of pcm services to strengthen the skills of owners in governing the construction process.