Comparative preliminary evaluation of two in-stream water treatment technologies for the agricultural reuse of drainage water in the Nile delta

In the Nile Delta, a complex network of canals collects drainage water from surface-irrigated fields, but also municipal wastewater. The goal of this work was to assess the technical, environmental and financial feasibility of the upgrade of a drainage canal (DC) into either an in-stream constructed wetland (ICW) or a canalized facultative lagoon (CFL), in order to produce a water re-usable in agriculture according to the Egyptian law. The model-based design of the proposed technologies was derived from field experimental data for the ICW and laboratory data for the CFL. Both technologies, integrated by a sedimentation pond and a disinfection canal, led to the attainment of the water quality standards imposed by Egyptian Law 92/2013 for the reuse of drainage water. The life cycle assessment indicated that the upgrade of an existing DC to either an ICW or a CFL results in an extremely small environmental burden, 64 0.3% of that of a traditional activated sludge process. The cost/benefit analysis (CBA) was based on the assumptions that (i) farmers currently irrigate a non-food crop (cotton) with the low-quality drainage water present in the DC, and (ii) thanks to the upgrade to a ICW or CFL, farmers will irrigate a food crop characterized by a higher market price (rice). The CBA indicated that the DC upgrade to an ICW represents an attractive investment, as it leads to a financial rate of return > 10% over a wide range of cotton market prices. Conversely, the upgrade to a CFL is less attractive due to high investment costs. In conclusion, the upgrade of DCs to ICWs appears a promising option for the treatment of drainage canal water in the Nile Delta, thanks to the high pollutant removal performances, low cost and negligible environmental burden. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Optimal seismic upgrade timing in seaports with increasing throughput demand via real options

A real options (RO) formulation is proposed for decision-making on the timing to upgrade the seismic performance of existing seaports with increasing throughput demand in earthquake prone areas. The pay-off of the seismic upgrade investment option is estimated based on projected net earnings, repair cost, and downtime for a damaging reference seismic event having a pre-specified annual probability of occurrence. These projections inform a discrete-time RO binomial tree, following the American option valuation framework, which propagates the probability of the reference seismic event assuming Poisson temporal distribution of earthquake occurrence. The net present value of the expected annual payoff of the considered investment is used as an index supporting risk-informed decision-making discounted by the weighted average cost of capital (WACC). Numerical examples pertaining to decision makers with different capital cost, namely port authorities and terminal operators, operating in different economic environments typical of developed and developing countries are furnished to illustrate the applicability of the proposed RO formulation. It is found that high WACC and/or low throughput growth bring the optimal seismic upgrade timing forward, while earthquake consequences and upgrade cost have almost no influence on this timing

First-mover disadvantage: The sovereign ratings mousetrap. CEPS Working Document No 2020/02, February 2020

Using 102 sovereigns rated by the three largest credit rating agencies (CRA), S&P, Moody’s and Fitch between January 2000 and January 2019, we are the first to document that the first mover CRA (S&P) in downgrades falls into a commercial trap. Namely, each first-mover downgrade by one notch by S&P results in a 2.4% increase in the probability of a rating contract being cancelled by the sovereign client, and a 1.2% decrease in the ratio of S&P’s sovereign rating coverage relative to Moody’s. The more first-mover downgrades S&P makes, the more their sovereign rating coverage declines relative to Moody’s. This paper interrelates three themes of the literature: herding behaviour amongst CRAs, issues of conflict of interest and ratings quality

Modelling diffusion of innovations in a social network

A new simple model of diffusion of innovations in a social network with upgrading costs is introduced. Agents are characterized by a single real variable, their technological level. According to local information agents decide whether to upgrade their level or not balancing their possible benefit with the upgrading cost. A critical point where technological avalanches display a power-law behavior is also found. This critical point is characterized by a macroscopic observable that turns out to optimize technological growth in the stationary state. Analytical results supporting our findings are found for the globally coupled case.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures. Final version accepted in PR

The case for high speed rail to the three cities: final report

This report has been commissioned by the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) to provide evidence on the case for the Three Cities of the East Midlands, Derby, Leicester and Nottingham to be part of a UK high speed rail network. This report outlines the economic benefits of the introduction of a high speed rail link serving the Three Cities, coupled with upgrades to the existing lines, to form a coherent strategy for the rail network over the next 20 to 30 years

The Coalition’s plan for fast broadband and an affordable NBN: background papers

Finding a strategy to upgrade telecommunications in Australia has been a challenge for both Labor and the Coalition over the past decade. Between 2004 and 2008 governments from both sides of politics were were unable to reach a deal with Telstra for an upgrade that would fairly balance the interests of Telstra’s shareholders and those of consumers and rival carriers. After winning the 2007 election promising a $4.7 billion National Broadband Network to be built in partnership with the private sector, Labor’s talks with Telstra reached an impasse by late 2008, prompting an abrupt shift in policy. In April 2009 the Government announced it would set up a new taxpayer‐funded company, NBN Co, to build a$43 billion fibre access network. This paper presents the background detail for the Coalition\u27s National Broadband Network plan

National state of the assets pilot 2012

This project is a pilot study to determine whether councils have the necessary data and information to meaningfully contribute to this process. The State of the Assets report aims to provide technical underpinning to the broader Roads to Recovery (R2R) initiative. This report represents the outcome from the first phase of the ALGA examination of the current status of local government road assets. There are three key elements to Phase 1 of this project: A Pilot of the proposed concept through testing the assumptions, agreeing performance indicators (Condition/ quality, function, capacity/utilisation), capturing data and analysing the data and information; Development of national methodology to be used periodically on a consistent basis; and Reporting of the results to key local government stakeholders. For the purposes of this work, road assets have been categorised as including sealed roads, unsealed roads and bridges (concrete and timber)