The Ministry of Finance (MOF) today revealed the preliminary results for the 22nd Golden Thumb Awards for PPP. This year’s selection comprises 17 entries—eight from "government teams" and nine from "private sector teams" (refer to attachment for details). The projects span a wide variety of infrastructure scopes, including geothermal power generation, children’s hospitals, and wastewater treatment facilities. The MOF plans to carry out on-site evaluations and further assessments, aiming to confirm the recipients of this year’s Golden Thumb Awards by late October and to formally recognize the winners in November.
The MOF noted that the 17 shortlisted projects represent a wide range of public infrastructure sectors such as transportation, wastewater management, healthcare, tourism, recreation, education, and sports facilities. This year marks the inaugural selection of projects focused primarily on geothermal power generation, which marks a significant milestone. Also noteworthy is the injection of private investment via the public-private partnership (PPP) model, which continues to gain traction, enhancing the diversity and operational synergy between the public and private sectors. This year’s selections showcase a variety of models, including conventional BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer), ROT (Rehabilitate-Operate-Transfer), and OT (Operate-Transfer), as well as newer formats like RTO (Rehabilitate-Transfer-Operate) under the PPP 2.0 Program, and combined BOT+ROT projects. These innovations reflect the government’s adaptive and comprehensive application of PPP frameworks to improve public infrastructure and deliver superior public services.
The selection process for the Golden Thumb Awards commenced in March 2024, engaging a panel of experts from industry, government, and academia with professional backgrounds in PPP. Following presentations and Q&A sessions with the candidates, 17 teams were shortlisted for additional scrutiny to evaluate the real-world application, management, oversight, and contractual governance of each project. The award recipients will be determined following further on-site inspections and evaluations by the committee.
According to the MOF, to encourage and commend exemplary governmental agencies and private entities involved in PPP projects, it has continuously refined the evaluation and reward mechanisms of the Golden Thumb Awards in recent years. This includes expanding the number of awards, as well as the increase of High Distinction Awards to two recipients. Government teams receiving the top awards can receive a maximum prize of NT$500,000; meanwhile, winning private sector teams are eligible to apply for incentives such as reduced guarantee fees and royalties from their supervising agencies, aiming to attract high-quality domestic firms to invest continually in these projects, thereby fostering the development and operation of public infrastructure and enhancing the quality of life the public.
The 22nd Golden Thumb Awards Ceremony is scheduled for November this year. For the latest updates, please visit the Golden Thumb Awards section of the Private Participation in Infrastructure Information System of the Ministry of Finance.
Press Release Contact: Section Chief Chuang, Ching
Tel: (02)2322-8218