What Causes Cost Overrun in Transport Infrastructure Projects? Essay Example

There is no need for new airports in order to deal with terrorist-driven declines because it will be tantamount to succumbing to terrorist pressure. The best approach is to boost security in terms of screening. It is unnecessary because for a long time, the world has not experienced planes being hijacked apart from the Pan Am in 1988, and the bombings in Britain in 2005.

The existing airports are inadequate for current freight and passenger needs because congestions continue being a problem in most airports. For instance, in the United States, 25% of the flights arriving in the busiest airports experienced 15 minutes lateness in 2001, despite experiencing a decline in the number of people travelling (Flyvbjerg, Skamris & Buhl, 2004). The decline was caused mainly by the terrorist attack in September 11, and the recession, which commenced during the spring.

The CIA website reveals that, infrastructure in Spain experienced massive growth in the last two decades that most nations in Europe could not reach. In view of the high-speed train, the country overtook France after constructing over 1200 miles of high-speed railway line. Air transport and road transport has equally been given a priority, with an increase of over 5000 kilometers of highway being added, making it the biggest construction project of roads in Europe (Laird,  Nellthorp & Mackie, 2005). In 2009, Spain experienced the highest number of passengers in all its 43 international airports. The government has decided to take steps in privatizing some of the major airports namely El Prat located in Barcelona, and one in Madrid called Barajas. Even so, the massive investments in the infrastructure have not been profitable, the reason that is increasingly compelling the authority to opt privatization.

References

Flyvbjerg, B., Skamris Holm, M.K, & Buhl, S.L. (2004). What causes cost overrun in transport infrastructure projects? Transport Reviews, 24(1), 3-18.

Laird, J.J., Nellthorp, J., & Mackie, P.J. (2005). Network effects and total economic impact in transport appraisal. Transport Policy, 12(6), 537-544.