Build-Operate-Transfer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) is a form of project financing, wherein a private entity receives a franchise from the public sector to finance, design, construct, and operate a facility for a specified period, after which ownership is transferred back to the public sector. During the time that the project proponent operates the facility, it is allowed to charge facility users appropriate tolls, fees, rentals, and charges stated in their contract to enable the project proponent to recover its investment, and operating and maintenance expenses in the project. Examples of countries using BOT are Japan, Taiwan (Republic of China), Malaysia and Hong Kong. However, in some countries, such as Canada and New Zealand, the term used is Build-Operate-Own-Transfer (BOOT). Recently, in the United States, BOT strategies are being considered for construction of portions of Interstate 69, with groundbreaking on the Southern Indiana Toll Road segment expected to begin in 2008.
BOT is now also used in the off-shoring and outsourcing of knowledge work. In these cases there is usually no government or public funding involved. Typically, a Western customer contracts with an Indian or Chinese vendor and the vendor builds and operates a customer call center or other business process for an extended period of time. However, the client retains the right to take over the operation ("transfer") at any time based on certain conditions and certain payments to the offshore partner.
