International Infrastructure Projects Research Articles

IMPORTANCE OF LIVELIHOOD IMPACT ASSESSMENT IN RESETTLEMENT PROJECTS

During the environmental and social impact assessment, planning for resettling people is often needed for large infrastructure projects that involve buying land. Resettlement planning, on the other hand, necessitates greater attention to detail than is often provided by a social impact assessment (SIA). The optimal time to begin preparing for a new home is after a SIA has been completed as part of the environmental permit process. The success of livelihood restoration is also influenced by timing and length, particularly in-kind support for social resilience. A one-time payout of cash compensation does not help restore a person's long-term financial well-being. Resettlement planning and SIA are intertwined in international infrastructure projects, and this article examines the consequences for timing of livelihood restoration measures in relation to the project cycle. KEYWORDS: Impact Assessment, Livelihood, Resettlement, Urban Planning, Rural

An analysis of the evolution of Japan's international student enrollment policy

Since the 1980s, Japan, at the national level, has gradually strengthened the acceptance of foreign students through the "Plan on Receiving 100,000 International Students", "Plan on Receiving 300,000 International Students", "Plans on International Infrastructure Project" and "Super University Support Plan". Through the analysis of the internationalization policies and international student enrollment policies of Japanese universities at various stages, it can be found that the foreign student based acceptance policies of Japan have completed the transition from pursuing quantity to pursuing quality.

УЧАСТИЕ МНОГОСТОРОННИХ БАНКОВ В ИНФРАСТРУКТУРНЫХ ПРОЕКТАХ ЕВРАЗИЙСКОГО ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКОГО СОЮЗА И ИНИЦИАТИВЫ «ПОЯС И ПУТЬ» В ЦЕНТРАЛЬНОЙ АЗИИ

This article analyses the infrastructure projects in Central Asia, which are being financed by two major international organisations, two multilateral banks: the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The article aims to evaluate the activity of these two institutions in the region and to compare their priorities and the probable efficiency of their projects for the development of Central Asian countries. The choice of the region for the study is conditioned by the fact that Central Asian states are Russia’s close neighbours, and the whole region is characterised by its critical strategic value for Russia’s foreign policy. The methodology of the study is based on the use of discourse analysis of the organisations’ documents, accessible for public: agreements, plans, reports, project-related documentation. In addition, the authors have monitored and analysed the relevant news archives of Russian and foreign mass media. The article consequently analyses the typology of both organisations through the lens of the international integration studies, the institutional structure of the EDB and the AIIB, the specific features of their functioning as international relations actors, and the actual infrastructure projects financed by these institutions in Central Asia. The study demonstrates that the policies and the priorities of the two international banks differ considerably. While the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank prefers to finance the construction of roads and energy infrastructure, the Eurasian Development Bank remarkably credits production more and finances projects aimed at the industrial cooperation of Eurasian countries. Obviously, in the view of the long-term development, all areas of infrastructure expansion are worth financing; however, one can note that projects, approved by the EDB, can be characterised as more significant both at the present stage and in the long-term perspective. In addition, they contribute to the development of regional economic cooperation and Eurasian integration. If we look at the environmental and social safety of the infrastructure projects, the activities of the AIIB, regardless of its declarations on sustainable development, bear certain risks due to the existing cases of violation of environmental rules by the bank’s founder and major operator – the People’s Republic of China – in its infrastructure projects abroad. This circumstance highlights the critical importance of elaboration of national and multilateral mechanisms of control and inspection of major international infrastructure projects, as well as the necessity to fulfill the obligation of demanding their approval by the citizens of the recipient countries.

The role of international infrastructure projects in sustainable social and economic development of the border areas (the case of Russia and Mongolia)

During the existence of the USSR, Mongolia was in the sphere of political and economic interests of Russia. On the one hand, the decrease of economic relations between Russia and Mongolia, and, on the other hand, the geographical proximity of Russia and China have made it necessary to search for new partners and sources of investment in mining, processing industry, energy and transport, service and tourism. The growing interest of foreign countries in Mongolia and presence of their representatives there undoubtedly speaks of the growing political and economic competition in the region. In the face of the current global geopolitical situation, growth of China’s influence in Mongolia’s economy and infrastructure projects being carrying out within the framework of the New Silk Road Concept, the role of border regions and cross-border interaction is growing. One way to increase the presence of other countries is by attracting investment or directly participating in the construction of new infrastructure facilities. The need to find ways of rational territorial organization of economic activities, using the potential of border areas, strengthening the infrastructure cooperation between the two countries determine the urgency of further research. A large amount of accumulated information on this subject of research and developed research methods, singled out comparable indicators of social and economic development of the regions of Russia and Mongolia allow for a qualitative, comprehensive study.

What Matters in Achieving Infrastructure Sustainability through Project Management Practices: A Preliminary Study of Critical Factors

Sustainability has captured extensive attention in Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry globally. However, how to achieve Infrastructure Sustainability (IS), one the critical dimensions measuring project success, although Project Management Practices (PMPs) in international contexts remain to be explored. Based on the empirical data collected from AEC practitioners with experiences in international infrastructure projects, this research develops two conceptual frameworks for PMPs and IS using principle components analysis (PCA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Four factors are identified for measuring PMPs with a composite reliability of 0.936—Culture, Strategy, Implementation, and Reflection—which are in analogy with the plan-do-check-action (PDCA) cycle ideology. Additionally, four metrics are also identified for IS with a composite reliability of 0.946—Project Economy, Organizational Integration, Social Utility, and Environmental Implication—which are established from project level, organizational level, to macro level, respectively. These findings contribute to the body of knowledge of construction project management and sustainable infrastructure development by demonstrating theoretical measurement frameworks for both PMPs and IS. Potentially, the outputs of this research will generate informative insights for practitioners to improve their PMPs in the process of pursuing IS in future AEC practices.

Державно-приватне партнерство: інституціональне середовище для розвитку та модернізації інфраструктури України

The article systematizes the hierarchical levels of the institutional environment for the introduction of PPPs in Ukraine in terms of megaeconomics, macroeconomics, mesoeconomics and microeconomics. The authors reveal the participants of the institutional environment, which are represented by the regulatory institutions determining the standards of relations, rights and obligations of the participants, and the constructive and investment institutions. At the level of megaeconomy, regulatory institutes are represented by: principles and standards of international law in relation to PPPs, international agreements, the market of international PPP projects; and the Sustainable Development Strategy 2030. The constructive institutions of that level include the integration of national infrastructure networks, and institutions of international infrastructure projects (for example, the Great Silk Road). The investment institutes include international financial institutions, international investment banks, the global stock market, infrastructure banks, etc. Regulatory institutions of the macroeconomic level are the Constitution of Ukraine, government programs, laws, and regulations on the PPPs and concessions, the Strategy of Sustainable Development of Ukraine 2030, the market of domestic infrastructural projects, the institution of public procurement. The constructive institutions include Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, Ministry of Infrastructure, Ministry of Regional Development and Construction, project offices, the institution of public program-target planning, the institution of interaction between public authorities. The investment institutes include budget funds, targeted financing, subsidies, private investments, and project funding. The authors analyze data on the number and quality of PPP projects in Ukraine and abroad. A comparison between the data on the implementation of PPP projects in Ukraine according to the World Bank and domestic sources has been performed, and the fragmentation of data accounting for PPP contracts and concession agreements has been identified. The conclusion is made about the necessity of systematization and unification of relevant data at different levels of the hierarchical structure of the institutional environment for the implementation of PPPs in Ukraine, that is, on the levels of megaeconomy and macroeconomy, and macroeconomy and mesoeconomy. It is noted that the presence of institutional traps causes intensification of further scientific research and development of recommendations in the field of introduction and development of PPP mechanisms for financing the development and modernization of infrastructure within various guidelines. Such guidelines include the regulatory and legal framework for the development of PPPs in Ukraine via further specification of the provisions of the Law of Ukraine On Public-Private Partnership; studying the feasibility and effectiveness of various forms of PPP implementation (concessions, renting, leasing, etc.) in financing large national projects, including projects on the development of Ukraine's economic infrastructure, as well as scientific substantiation of their use; studying the regional peculiarities of the use of PPP mechanisms in this country for financing strategic investment projects, in particular large infrastructural projects, and social and humanitarian projects in the framework of the implementation of the new regional policy; and additional studies of advanced international experience in the implementation and development of PPP mechanisms for financing national projects, in particular, for involving the IFIs and other non-governmental organizations.

“One Belt, One Road” Project as a new foreign policy strategy of China. Short analysis of the discussion inside China

One of the most significant international infrastructure projects of our time is undoubtedly the foreign policy initiative “One belt, One Road” announced by China ’s leader Xi Jinping in 2013. Despite the fact that the true reasons, scale and long-term goals of this global project of China have not been definitively formulated yet, it is obvious the “One Belt, One Road” Project has surpassed its originally stated infrastructure and economic guidelines and become an ambitious long-term plan to promote the Chinese economic model around the world. From the point the Chinese planners the initiative of Xi Jinping is able in the near future to provide a platform for harmonious coexistence and solidarity between various countries and entire civilizations that while remaining independent from each other politically and culturally, will be economically interdependent and share a common desire for a harmonious co-development. The principles and ideals on which, to the mind of the initiators of the “One Belt, One Road” Project, such a civilizational dialogue of equals should be built, require the most serious attention and careful study. Unfortunately, in most modern publications on this topic, the analysis of the reasons, goals and objectives of the global Chinese initiative is carried out only on the basis of official documents of the Chinese government and the positions of those experts in China, whose opinion rather reflects their own attitude to the “One Belt, One Road” Project than is decisive in the process of internal Chinese discussion on this issue. It seems that this approach does not contribute to the formation of an objective understanding of the conditions under which this new foreign policy of China is born and to what consequences it could lead. In contrast, in this article, an attempt is made to consider the origins and to interpret the goals of “One Belt, One Road” Project through the analysis of the discussion taking place inside China which is not intended for the external audience.

Scientific Cooperation between Russia and the EU in the Development and Use of Large Research Infrastructure

The article considers the use of scientific infrastructure as an element of international scientific cooperation. The authors analyze a European approach that was developed in the framework of the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program.The authors examined the current large international infrastructure projects with Russian participation and proposed their typology. The article outlines the specifics and prospects for the development of scientific infrastructure, proposes optimal forms of scientific cooperation, and makes some suggestions on the use of international scientific cooperation as an instrument for solving tasks related to the foreign policy of Russia.The authors prove that the development of scientific infrastructure is a driver of economic growth for both the country as a whole and its regions.

Aligning resettlement planning and livelihood restoration with social impact assessment: a practitioner perspective

Large infrastructure projects involving land acquisition frequently require resettlement planning to be undertaken during the environmental and social impact assessment. However, resettlement planning needs more design detail than is usually available during a social impact assessment (SIA). Resettlement planning is best scheduled after an SIA required for environmental permitting. Timing and duration also influence the effectiveness of livelihood restoration, in particular in-kind support to build social resilience. Cash compensation, as a one-time payment, is not constructive for long term livelihood restoration. Using examples from international infrastructure projects, this paper reviews where SIA and resettlement planning intersect in the project cycle and considers the implications for the timing of livelihood restoration measures.

Proposal on Hybrid Risk Evaluation Method (HREM) for bidding decision in international infrastructure project

Proposal on Hybrid Risk Evaluation Method (HREM) for bidding decision in international infrastructure project

Cause Analysis of Cost Overruns in International Infrastructure Project Conducted by Korean Contractors

Cause Analysis of Cost Overruns in International Infrastructure Project Conducted by Korean Contractors

BioWes-from design of experiment, through protocol to repository, control, standardization and back-tracking.

BackgroundOne of the main challenges in modern science is the amount of data produced by the experimental work; it is difficult to store, organize and share the scientific data and to extract the wealth of knowledge. Experimental method descriptions in scientific publications are often incomplete, which complicates experimental reproducibility. The proposed system was created in order to address these issues. It provides a solution for management of the experimental data and metadata to support the reproducibility.ImplementationThe system is implemented as a repository for experiment descriptions and experimental data. It has three main entry points: desktop application for protocol design and data processing, web interface dedicated for protocol and data management, and web-based interface for mobile devices suitable for the field experiments. The functionality of desktop client can be extended using the custom plug-ins for data extraction and data processing. The system provides several methods to support experimental reproducibility: standardized terminology support, data and metadata at a single location, standardized protocol design or protocol evolution.Results and discussionThe system was tested in the framework of international infrastructure project AQUAEXCEL with five pilot installations at different institutes. The general testing in Tissue culture certified laboratory, Institute of complex systems and IFREMER verified the usability under different research infrastructures. The specific testing focused on the data processing modules and plug-ins demonstrated the modularity of the system for the specific conditions. The BioWes system represents experimental data as black box and therefore can handle any data type so as to provide broad usability for a variety of experiments and provide the data management infrastructure to improve the reproducibility and data sharing.ConclusionsThe proposed system provides the tools for standard data management operations and extends the support by the standardization possibilities, protocol evolution with visualization features and modularity based on the data processing modules and device communication plug-ins. The software can be used at different organization levels: from a single researcher (to improve data organization) to research consortium through the central protocols management repository. Support from the protocol design until being shared with the standardization features helps to improve the reproducibility of research work. The platform provides support from experimental protocol design to cooperation using simple sharing.

Main findings and advances in biomedical engineering and bioinformatics from IWBBIO 2015.

Main findings and advances in biomedical engineering and bioinformatics from IWBBIO 2015.

シナリオプランニングを用いた国際インフラ事業のリスク評価法

Current Japanese growth strategy contains exportation of infrastructure packages. Japanese firms mostly have to confront an international competitive bidding to be involved in international infrastructure projects. In recent years, however, they often withdraw from the bidding in spite of high potential in expanding their business. Difficulty in evaluation of risks residing in overseas project due to the company’s inexperience and unclearness of measure to prevent such risks are regarded as the main reason for this. For the reason, Japanese firms need a method by which project risks can be evaluated precisely in advance of the bidding. This paper describes a method combining an existing method and a scenario planning method by which firms can identify potential risks actively for the bidding decision by considering various uncertainties and quantifying risks in the projects. In the course of the development of this method, validity of this method was verified by applying the method to an actual project (Bangalore metro construction project in India) as a case study.

REALIZACJA BEZPIECZEŃSTWA ENERGETYCZNEGO POLSKI

The aim of this paper is to analyse the actions taken by the Polish government to achieve energy security. On the basis of specifi ed assumptions and its specifi c circumstances, the realization of Polish energy security is examined by looking at three levels: the state level, the EU level and the international level. At the state level, Poland seeks to diversify its energy mix [does author mean ‘and’ here instead of ‘or’] and develop infrastructure. Energy security at the European Union level is sought by the development of trans- European networks between all member states and the attempt to build an internal energy market. At the international level the achievement of energy security is sought by the diversifi cation of Polish contracts for import of fossil fuels and efforts to build international infrastructure projects. All three levels are interdependent and their nature is one of mutual interpenetration.

Diamond: Open For Business

The importance of industrial use of national and international infrastructure projects such as Diamond Light Source is well understood, with the facilities ever mindful of the impact agenda of their funding agencies and governments. Diamond opened its doors for academic users in January 2007, with industrial users following a year later. Since that time, more than 40 companies have used Diamond's beamlines and support laboratories through the proprietary access mode, i.e. paying for their usage. In addition, many more have collaborated with university partners and used facilities through the peer review route.

Part 2: Freight Analysis, Evaluation, and Modeling: Who Gains?: Allocation of Freight Transport User Benefits from International Infrastructure Projects in Multicountry Cost-Benefit Analysis

A public decision by several countries on whether to cofinance an international infrastructure project is the subject of a cost–benefit analysis (CBA). The CBA elements are broken out and analyzed for each country. The issue of freight user benefits is discussed, and results are derived from a partial equilibrium model and point toward practical applicability. A recent analysis of the Fehmarn Belt Bridge, which will connect Denmark and Germany in a link in the Trans-European Network for Transport, is used for illustrative purposes.

Who Gains?

A public decision by several countries on whether to cofinance an international infrastructure project is the subject of a cost–benefit analysis (CBA). The CBA elements are broken out and analyzed for each country. The issue of freight user benefits is discussed, and results are derived from a partial equilibrium model and point toward practical applicability. A recent analysis of the Fehmarn Belt Bridge, which will connect Denmark and Germany in a link in the Trans-European Network for Transport, is used for illustrative purposes.

Management of Risk in private funded international infrastructure projects

Management of Risk in private funded international infrastructure projects

The ∅resund Fixed Link

The ∅resund Link is an international infrastructure project, joining two countries with different structural codes and engineering traditions, making the Eurocodes a natural choice as a neutral code system. The ∅resund Link comprises a four-lane motorway and a two-track railway, for freight trains and an electrified high-speed passenger service, between the centres of the Danish capital Copenhagen and the city of Malmo in southern Sweden.