Master planning frame for road infrastructure projects: decision-making model for private investments

This paper develops a project management framework that master plans private investments in road infrastructure by providing the primary mechanisms for monetarising social benefits under different public-private partnership payment mechanisms. Its novelty lies in providing a platform for decision-makers to compare various private investment alternatives by assessing the possible impacts of the payment mechanisms on the relevant projects' social benefits and economic results. The paper uses a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods. It determines the main social effects of the relevant projects under a social welfare framework and develops formulas that enable decision-makers to compare the impact of various payment mechanisms on the added social value. This paper demonstrates that the social outcomes of projects can vary considerably, depending on the chosen payment mechanism. The proposed framework will facilitate the stakeholders to develop projects with a broader spectrum of possible analyses to correlate payment mechanisms and social welfare.