The EVA-TREN Project Approach and Results

AbstractThe paper provides an overview of the EVA-TREN project approach and results, following a process which started from the detailed analysis of 11 European case studies to end up in providing recommendations for the improvement of the methodology for ex-ante and ex-post evaluation of large infrastructure projects in the transport sector.The case studies provided inputs for a specific analysis of ‘problems’ in the implementation of the projects that may have been avoided whether the project would had been appraised ex-ante by using different approaches/methods. The paper highlights two critical aspects for the assessment and evaluation of the large infrastructure projects: 1) the importance of looking at the entire project circle, from ex-ante to ex-post, and of adopting a comprehensive approach able to adapt to the level of debates and analyses that takes place at different stages of the project; 2) the application of a common assessment methodology and of some instruments that might help reducing the uncertainties of demand forecasting as well as compare different transport infrastructure projects on the basis of the same assumptions at least from the point of view of international flows