Improving Transport Project Appraisals
In the Islamic Countries
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- The adoption of transport modelling for demand analysis must be streamlined. This is to
include obtaining input data (number of vehicles, their characteristics, destination
choices, trip frequency, driving behaviour, emissions, noise, route choice) for CBA and
other analyses. Transport models need to be set up, run and periodically updated,
reflecting the best international standards and practices. Ideally, the models would be
owned by the responsible public authorities and agencies and systematically used to plan,
design and monitor transport projects rather than developed ad hoc and on the spot by
external consultants in the ex-ante phase.
- Appropriate data collection and official statistics must be available to populate and
calibrate the models or simply to develop demand analysis based on past observations.
Creating project appraisal manuals, resulting in standards and a harmonised approach
 Clear guidelines should be provided on how to carry out project appraisal, linked to the
above-mentioned transport project appraisal framework. It is recommended to develop
mode-specific appraisal manuals. International guidelines and manual can be taken into
consideration for the general principles and rationale while country-specific parameters and
procedures can be developed to better reflect the national context.
 The manuals should provide clear guidance on how project appraisal is to be carried out,
including:
- A description of the appraisal process with clearly defined steps, including project
identification, demand analysis, options analysis, financial sustainability, return on the
project and on private capital, economic analysis, sensitivity and risk analysis. It is
recommended to design the process in accordance with international best practices, as
for example prepared by the World Bank or other IFIs.
- Methodological standards , such as typical costs and benefits to be included, techniques to
deal with monetisation of benefits, etc.
- Standard input parameters, such as project duration, discount rate, values of time, value
of statistical life, etc. These parameters should be stablished in close collaboration with
relevant stakeholders and in collaboration with official statistics and data providers (for
example the central bank or Ministry of Finance for the financial discount rate). The input
parameters should be periodically reviewed.
 The standardisation and harmonisation contributes to the credibility of the appraisal results.
Furthermore, it contributes to the ability to compare appraisal results, which may be
beneficial for prioritisation of projects.
 The systematic use of standard tools and parameters shall be promoted and endorsed,
including the use of dedicated software to facilitate the standardisation and comparison of
project data.