Previous studies on public–private partnerships (PPPs) have shown that a “strong and good concessionaire” is critical to a project’ssuccess. However, empirical studies on schedule management of the bidding process and the selection of criteria and methods for properly evaluating PPP biddersin China are limited. This research aims to specify the concessionaire selection for PPP projects in China from the perspective of procedures, duration, criteria, and methods. Case studies were conducted to accumulate the valuable experiences in China. The concessionaire selection of six representative PPP projects in China was analyzed to provide both descriptive and predictive insights to the government and private investors. Valuable insights were gained in terms of selection procedures, duration, criteria, and methods. It was found that insufficient bidding and negotiation time restrict the site survey, information collection, and risk analysis of bidders, which may induce disputes during the project implementation period. Three commonly used methods for concessionaire selection, namely, single-index evaluation method, comprehensive evaluation method, and two-stage evaluation method, are presented and discussed. The findings provide useful references for concessionaire selection of future PPP projects in China.
