Improving Transport Project Appraisals
In the Islamic Countries
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Netherlands, the procedure regarding EIAs is legally laid down in the Environmental
Management Law.
2.1.2 Governance
National transport projects are coordinated by the Ministry of Transport and Water
Management. The second opinion is mostly conducted by the Centraal Planbureau (CPB)
(Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis). However, the institutes that are part of or
affiliated with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management might also do the review.
The CBAs that are carried out in the framework of the MIRT help the national government to
answer the question of whether they are co-investing in a regional project. Logically, SCBAs for
MIRT projects estimate positive and negative welfare effects at national level. However, the
SCBA is not just a governmental instrument. In national SCBAs, attention can also be paid to
effects at regional or even municipal level.
2.1.3 Capacity and tools
As mentioned above, the OEI-guideline is a guideline for evaluating government-planned
infrastructure projects (construction of roads, railways, etc.), in which effects are described and
the methods by which these effects can be determined. The purpose of the OEI is to offer the
opportunity to present the effects of infrastructure projects in a more structured and
transparent manner, so that decision-making around an infrastructure project can be improved.
In the OEI guideline, amongst others, the following topics are discussed;
 Structure of the CBA
 Step-by-step plan for economic project assessment
 Market and competition analysis
 Indirect and external effects
Recommended reference parameters are also described in the guideline. The OEI-guideline does
not include an MCA. The non-monetised impacts are only presented in a table, not further
processed in any formal instrument. However, for project evaluations for private sector
organisations and local government and for EIA, MCA is still used every now and then.
It is also possible to follow courses regarding the SCBA. This can be a basic crash course, a more
advanced SCBA course or an SCBA in-house training. During the course you will receive
intensive training from SCBA-experts who know how to link theory and practice to each other
in an easy accessible way. You will learn how to successfully apply the SCBA in the decision-
making process by means of appealing examples. Depending on the domains in which the
participants work, examples are selected. You also practice during the course with the
independent preparation of a SCBA.