Introduction:

Strategic economic and cost benefit analysis for road development projects represents a core institutional function for evaluating long term infrastructure investments and public value creation. Its role centers on supporting funding decisions, project prioritization, and lifecycle cost justification within transport sector governance. This training program covers analytical frameworks, economic modeling structures, data architectures, and evaluation methodologies used in HDM-4 based project appraisal environments. It presents a general institutional view of how transport investment analysis supports policy alignment, capital efficiency, and infrastructure sustainability.

Program Objectives:

By the end of this program, participants will be able to:

• Analyze the institutional role of economic appraisal in road development planning systems.

• Classify cost components, benefit categories, and traffic modeling structures used in transport evaluation.

• Evaluate HDM-4 analytical architecture and economic calculation logic for road projects.

• Assess risk, sensitivity, and scenario analysis frameworks in transport investment decisions.

• Explore economic performance indicators used in funding approval and project prioritization.

Target Audience:

• Road construction and infrastructure specialists.

• Transport project and program managers.

• Economic appraisal and feasibility study analysts.

• Planning and investment evaluation engineers.

• Public sector infrastructure development professionals.

Program Outline:

Unit 1:

Institutional Foundations of Transport Economic Evaluation:

• Economic appraisal positioning within infrastructure governance systems.

• Role of cost benefit analysis in public investment decision structures.

• Relationship between transport economics and project lifecycle planning.

• Funding approval logic in road development programs.

• International practices in transport project economic justification.

Unit 2:

Cost and Benefit Structures in Road Projects:

• Capital expenditure classification frameworks for road construction.

• Operating and maintenance cost structure models.

• User cost and vehicle operating cost components.

• Time savings, safety, and environmental benefit categories.

• Socio-economic impact valuation positioning in transport projects.

Unit 3:

HDM-4 Analytical Architecture and Data Models:

• HDM-4 system structure and economic evaluation modules.

• Road network representation and asset modeling frameworks.

• Traffic demand and growth forecasting structures.

• Pavement deterioration and maintenance strategy models.

• Data integrity and calibration architecture in HDM-4 environments.

Unit 4:

Economic Indicators and Decision Metrics:

• Net present value and internal rate of return structures.

• Economic rate of return calculation logic.

• Benefit cost ratio modeling frameworks.

• Project comparison and ranking methodologies.

• Institutional thresholds for investment acceptance decisions.

Unit 5:

Risk Sensitivity and Strategic Investment Evaluation:

• Sensitivity analysis model structures for transport economics.

• Scenario comparison frameworks for funding alternatives.

• Uncertainty classification in traffic and cost projections.

• Strategic prioritization models for road program portfolios.

• Economic evaluation reporting structures for executive and donor review.