Improving Transport Project Appraisals

In the Islamic Countries

The

PBO

is tasked with preparing and updating two fundamental texts on which project

appraisal practices in the country are based: the

Guidelines for project appraisals

and the

Handbook for unit values

Both are cross-sectoral, reflecting the centralised and horizontal

nature of the PBO itself, which does not belong to any ministry, but rather operates under the

supervision of the President of Iran and is headed by one of the country’s Vice-Presidents (as

illustrated by its internal structure).

The PBO assigns an annual budget

to the single organisations to fund infrastructural projects

and it keeps a

list of certified contractors and a list of certified consultants.

The latter are allowed

to prepare the project appraisals.

Moreover, within each annual budget, the PBO provides a list of

priority projects

(so-called

“national projects”) in line with the masterplans. Such projects are funded directly from the

general budget.

The organisation changed its name fromManagement and Planning Organization (MPO) to Plan and Budget Organization

(PBO) in 2016.

Besides these texts there are many other Internal National Standards and Guidelines for all types of infrastructure

published by PBO and other related ministries and separate organizations such as the Ministry of Economic Affairs and

Finance, Parliament's Research Organization etc.

During interviews with stakeholders, the fact that the budget is allocated only for a one-year period to MRUD

organisations emerged as a problem, pointing to a difficulty in combining short-term allocation of money with medium-

and long-term planning of investments. This issue is further complicated by high inflation rates.