Proceedings of the 13th Meeting of the
Transport and Communications Working Group
12
It is recommended to:
 Execute a transport project appraisals along the entire project design cycle. Project
appraisals can be conducted at a very early phase of the project preparation when project
alternatives are still to be selected or carried out at later stages when the appraisal becomes
a justification for choices which have already been taken rather than instrumental for policy
learning and future planning. It is recommended to have project appraisal going along the
entire project design and preparation cycle, such that it can better inform and assist the
entire decision-making process
 Establish a legal requirement for transport project appraisals. It is recommended to
establish a well-defined legal requirement and methodology for transport project appraisals.
A legal requirement stating the principles, procedures, andmethodologies for all the agencies
in charge of project planning and financing, will contribute tomore effective project appraisal
and selection practices.
 In many Mozambican transport projects, a reference is made to the UK's WebTag guidelines
and the JICA guidelines. This indicates that there is a lack of national guidelines on transport
project appraisals. Therefore, it is recommended to create a project appraisal manual, with
standardized input parameters, including amongst others discount rate, the value of time,
project duration, etc.
Case study Nigeria
The Road Sector Development Team (RSDT), supported through a number of IFIs, functions as
a knowledge center in the road sector, providing a sound methodological basis for project
appraisal, including HDM-4, and contributing to building capacity in the sector in project
appraisal.
Also, the EGRP focus lab is developed to fast-track private sector investments in the transport
sector.
Some lessons we learned during the case study:
 Broadening the scope of transport project appraisals. It is recommended to apply project
appraisal for a broader set of transport projects. The rationale for this should be the ambition
to use public funds in such a way that it provides maximum benefit to the Nigerian society.
 Further, develop the capacity in transport project appraisal. Capacity in project appraisal
needs to be further developed, also to facilitate the above-mentioned ambition related to the
wider application of project appraisal. The knowledge and experience, which has been
created through the project appraisals of internationally funded and larger domestically
funded projects, can be used for other projects.
 Create standards and a harmonized approach. Standardization can focus on the process
steps to follow in the appraisal process, or on how to carry out a feasibility study. In addition,
it is recommended to standardize input parameters. If for a similar type of projects, input
values, such as discount rates or evaluation periods, are similar, results of the appraisal