Design of Availability Payment Mechanism for Public Private Partnerships

Availability Payment Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) are long-term contracts where the private sector is allocated responsibilities of designing, building, financing, operating and maintaining the highway on a public project. In return to their services the private sector is reimbursed through a performance-based predetermined payment plan. As per this plan, the private sector is entitled to receive predetermined payments called Maximum Availability Payments (MAPs) throughout the concession term (operations and maintenance phase). Thus the MAP amount and the length of concession term would have a major influence on the overall project cost since any inappropriate increase or decrease to these terms will heavily influence the project outcomes. This mandates the public agencies to diligently design MAPs and concession term but review of practices shows that the public agencies have been relying on unwarranted traditional methods to finalize these terms. Furthermore, very few researchers have worked towards designing the concession term and all the previous works have considered the payments and concession term as independent variables. Last, the timing and cost of post-concession maintenance costs have never been considered before while designing payment structure and concession term. This research work introduces a hybrid model developed by blending the stochastic dynamic programming model with multi-objective linear optimization principles that would allow the public sector to determine the upper limit of availability payments and concession term. This model ensures that public sector's cost saving objective and private sector's financial stability objective are satisfied simultaneously. The model also integrates post-concession maintenance cost structures and thus enables this model to include the effects of post-concession maintenance costs into the design. This model also allows inclusion of the effects of variation in private sector's financial condition and performance uncertainty in the design process. The research includes a case study focusing on Caltrans' Presidio Parkway Project and covers analyses that provide valuable insights about the design of Availability Payment PPPs. The analysis also quantifies and identifies the factors that affect payments and concession term in Availability Payment PPPs

A Probabilistic Alternative Approach to Optimal Project Profitability Based on the Value-at-Risk

This paper focuses on an investment decision-making process for sustainable development based on the profitability impact factors for overseas projects. Investors prefer to use the discounted cash-flow method. Although this method is simple and straightforward, its critical weakness is its inability to reflect the factor volatility associated with the project evaluation. To overcome this weakness, the Value-at-Risk method is used to apply the volatility of the profitability impact factors, thereby reflecting the risks and establishing decision-making criteria for risk-averse investors. Risk-averse investors can lose relatively acceptable investment opportunities to risk-neutral or risk-amenable investors due to strict investment decision-making criteria. To overcome this problem, critical factors are selected through a Monte Carlo simulation and a sensitivity analysis, and solutions to the critical-factor problems are then found by using the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving and a business version of the Project Definition Rating Index. This study examines the process of recovering investment opportunities with projects that are investment feasible and that have been rejected when applying the criterion of the Value-at-Risk method. To do this, a probabilistic alternative approach is taken. To validate this methodology, the proposed framework for an improved decision-making process is demonstrated using two actual overseas projects of a Korean steel-making company.111Nsciessciscopu

Economy of grid-connected photovoltaic systems and comparison of irradiance/electric power predictions vs. experimental results

This thesis is focused on various aspects concerning the Distributed Generation (DG) from Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and in particular from PhotoVoltaics (PV). The PV generation strongly depends on weather conditions (irradiance and temperature), therefore the solar irradiance forecast is very important for grid-connected PV systems. The PV power injected into the grid is concentrated during sunlight hours, in which the maximum peak load demand occurs and, as a consequence, an impact on the electrical system occurs. The task of the Transmission System Operator (TSO) is to ensure a constant balance between supply and consumption within the grid. Therefore, the presence of strong fluctuations of the solar radiation requires additional regulatory actions and compensation, through the use of short-term power backup, causing an increase in network costs. Thus, the solar irradiance forecast is necessary for an accurate evaluation of the PV power from PV systems, for the management of electrical grids in order to minimize the costs of energy imbalance and for the decisions concerning the energy market. This thesis essentially consists of two parts. In the first part, the profitability of investments in the rooftop grid-connected PV systems subjected to incentive and the grid-parity analysis in the two main European PV markets (Italy and Germany) are presented. In the second part, in order to minimize the costs of energy imbalance in the Italian electricity market, the comparison of irradiance and electric power predictions with respect to the experimental results of grid-connected PV systems is presented

Studi Potensi Pemisahan Pelabuhan Barang Di Padang Bai

Pelabuhan penyebrangan Padang Bai merupakan pelabuhan yang melayani pengangkutan truk dan kendaraan pribadi dari Bali menuju Lombok. Dari tahun ke tahun arus muatan di pelabuhan Padang Bai cenderung mengalami peningkatan, pada tahun 2013 untuk arus muatan truk di Padang Bai 95.537 unit meningkat menjadi 105.525 unit di tahun 2014, untuk sepeda motor dari 231.620 di tahun 2013 dan meningkat menjadi 256.460 menurut data ASDP pelabuhan Padang Bai 2015, akan tetapi luas lahan di Padang Bai terbatas. Dengan menggunakan metode regresi linear didapat persamaan untuk muatan truk dengan variable bebas PDB NTB y = -0.453 + 9.47x, untuk peramalan kendaraan pribadi dengan variable bebas tenagakerja Bali y = 0.24 + 2.17x, peramalan arus muatan untuk menganilsis kapasitas pelabuhan kedepannya. Dalam penilaian potensi digunakan metode Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) untuk melakukan pengambilan keputusan. Kriteria yang digunakan adalah biaya operasional truk, Jarak antar pelabuhan, load factor kapal, kebisingan, emisi udara, kerugian akibat antrian dan biaya pelabuhan. Penilaian terhadap alternatif didasarkan atas nilai masing-masing kriteria yang diperoleh dari perhitungan yang dilakukan. Alternatif lokasi yang terpilih adalah alternatif dengan nilai tertinggi. Dari hasil analisis beberapa kriteria, lokasi Amed memiliki nilai sebesar 0.83 sedangkan Padang Bai memiliki nilai 0.52, sehingga pelabuhan penyeberangan truk lebih baik di Amed ======================================================================================================== Padang Bai is a port that serves truck and vehicles transporting from Bali to Lombok. According to ASDP data in 2015, loading rate in Padang Bai tended to increase every year. To begin with, the number of trucks transported was 95,537 units in 2013 and reached 105,525 units in 2014; and the number of motorcycles recorded by 231,620 units in 2013 and increased to 256,460 in 2014. But the areas in Padang Bai did not have to development. Linear regression method was optimised to obtain several equations in which represent each vehicle category accordingly. Truck equation with a variable of PDB NTB y = -0.453 + 9.47x, whereas private vehicle equation with a variable of Bali labour y = 0.24 + 2.17x, the forecast of loading rate to analyse port facility in the future. In evaluating the potential, Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) was utilised to undertake the selection. The criteria were cost of operational truck, the distance between ports, ship’s load factor, noise pollution, the line of vehicles cost and port cost. Alternative location given was the highest score alternative. From the analysis result of several criteria, Amed had a score of 0.83, while Padang Bai was 0.52 therefore, the recommendation is to relocate the port to Ame

Development and implementation of an economic and financial evaluation model of R&D Projects: a case study in the mobility sector

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engineering and Industrial ManagementResearch and Development (R&D) projects have limited budgets, depending on the company’s investment and funding capacities available to the company. That being said, the financial dimension should be included in R&D management at every stage to identify possible risks and evaluate the return on investment (ROI), as soon as possible. This research aims to develop a framework to evaluate R&D projects. The developed economic and financial model (FINECON Model) is a decision-making and evaluation tool for R&D projects and their financial scenarios, designed for entrepreneurs, companies with R&D teams, and, lastly, investors or business angels’ usage, allowing the economic and financial viability study of new products, businesses, and technological startups. The proposed methodology was applied to MobiBUS, an intelligent mobility R&D project developed in Bosch Car Multimedia, in collaboration with the University of Minho. The application of the developed model to the case study MobiBUS supported the whole evaluation, the formulation of good and bad hypothetical scenarios, and the delivery of information to the team and potential investors. In conclusion, the MobiBUS project was evaluated as viable, taking into consideration its resources, product, and used technology, as well as sustainable enough to create a start-up. The developed model can be applied to other case studies in mobility contexts or other technological R&D projects.Os projetos de Investigação e Desenvolvimento (I&D) possuem orçamento limitado, e estão dependentes das capacidades de investimento e de financiamento à disposição da empresa. Deste modo, a dimensão financeira deve estar presente na gestão de I&D para que possam ser identificados possíveis riscos e para que seja possível avaliar o retorno do investimento (ROI) o mais precocemente possível. Este projeto de investigação teve como objetivo o desenvolvimento de uma metodologia para avaliar projetos de I&D. O modelo de avaliação económico-financeira desenvolvido (modelo FINECON) é uma ferramenta para a tomada de decisão e avaliação de projetos de I&D e respetivos cenários financeiros, que se destina a empreendedores, empresas com projetos de I&D, ou, em último caso, investidores permitindo analisar as condições de viabilidade económico-financeira de novos produtos, negócios e startups de base tecnológica. A metodologia proposta foi aplicada no MobiBUS, um projeto de mobilidade inteligente de I&D desenvolvido na Bosch Car Multimedia, em colaboração com a Universidade do Minho. A aplicação do modelo ao projeto MobiBUS suportou a sua total avaliação, a formulação hipotética de cenários otimistas e pessimistas, e o fornecimento de informações à equipa e potenciais investidores.Em suma, o projeto MobiBUS avaliou-se viável, tendo em conta os recursos, produto e tecnologia utilizada, e ainda suficientemente sustentável para que se crie uma start-up. O modelo desenvolvido pode ser aplicado noutros casos no contexto particular da mobilidade e noutros projetos de I&D de base tecnológica

Sustainable Smart Cities and Smart Villages Research

ca. 200 words; this text will present the book in all promotional forms (e.g. flyers). Please describe the book in straightforward and consumer-friendly terms. [There is ever more research on smart cities and new interdisciplinary approaches proposed on the study of smart cities. At the same time, problems pertinent to communities inhabiting rural areas are being addressed, as part of discussions in contigious fields of research, be it environmental studies, sociology, or agriculture. Even if rural areas and countryside communities have previously been a subject of concern for robust policy frameworks, such as the European Union’s Cohesion Policy and Common Agricultural Policy Arguably, the concept of ‘the village’ has been largely absent in the debate. As a result, when advances in sophisticated information and communication technology (ICT) led to the emergence of a rich body of research on smart cities, the application and usability of ICT in the context of a village has remained underdiscussed in the literature. Against this backdrop, this volume delivers on four objectives. It delineates the conceptual boundaries of the concept of ‘smart village’. It highlights in which ways ‘smart village’ is distinct from ‘smart city’. It examines in which ways smart cities research can enrich smart villages research. It sheds light on the smart village research agenda as it unfolds in European and global contexts.

Value drivers within SMEs: growth and value creation within the context of the Economic Value Added® framework

Value based performance measurement has become popular in modern day financial practices. Of the many value based measurements, the EVA® framework has gained much notoriety. It became the focus of much research because it has been widely implemented in many large organisations with professed benefits in maximizing shareholder wealth. Much of the previous work on the EVA® framework focused on the performance metric; conclusions differed as to whether the EVA® performance metric resulted in better information or whether it was better at indicating performance, and ultimately shareholder wealth. Conclusions were similar when compared to other value based measures and with traditional measures. EVA®’s management and compensation framework was also investigated, again resulting in conflicting results. Other studies focused on the theory behind EVA® and concluded that it is financially sound and was agreed to be based on established theory on residual income. This study investigates growth and value creation in SMEs within the context of the EVA® framework. The investigation was conducted using and integrating a mixed method approach. Using purposive sampling, a range of SMEs was selected; senior management interviewed and financial reports for a 5 years period were collected. Practitioners are included for their expert views which were utilised when comparing and contrasting evidence obtained during the investigation. The study reveals some correlation between the characteristics of SMEs and the theory for the implementation of EVA®. However, it was found that SMEs lack vital information on value and value creating elements within their businesses for successful implementation of EVA®. The study fills a major gap in identifying and resolving the issue of the value drivers employed in the EVA® performance metric. The study concludes that it may be practical to implement EVA® in SMEs as it can provide information on progress and value creation

An integrated project evaluation tool for public-private partnership projects

The evaluation of a large infrastructure project is a critical activity for bidders and governments under traditional procurement or through Public Private Partnership. When a project requires huge capital investment, public-private partnership (PPP) is often sought as an alternative in cases of shortage of public funds. Nevertheless, the complexity of the PPP arrangement has constituted a dilemma for government authorities to balance the interests between the public and the private parties (stakeholders). High capital burdens in terms of PPP bidding cost, construction cost, and operation and maintenance cost are part of the major challenges for private sponsors to get involved in PPP projects. Meanwhile, PPP scheme projects, believed to deliver better value for money, have been criticised by many as the product of highest influence level from either political patronage or corporate political power. There is an apparent need for a tool to help the government agency evaluate the delivery of value for money on PPP projects while still sustaining the interests of private parties. The aim of this research is to assist government agencies in evaluating bids and making decision efficiently for PPP seaport development projects through the use of an integrated project evaluation tool (IPET). A computer (MS excel program) based tool was developed to evaluate the project financial viability and negotiate the risk sharing mechanism of PPP Seaport Project at five different project stages. The stakeholders’ expectations, financial indicators, financial risks, and mitigation measures are considered and developed into the following modules: (1) Financial viability module; (2) Financial risk analysis module; and (3) Financial risk mitigation module. A triangulation strategy was justified with caution due to the possibility of error. A qualitative method (i.e. literature review and interview to explore stakeholders’ expectation and preferred indicators of PPP financial models) was undertaken prior to performing a quantitative technique (i.e. questionnaire survey to narrow down the preliminary findings). Then, the proposed tool was validated by comparing the results with secondary data and interviewing experts regarding their opinion on its applicability. The findings from the statistical analysis indicate that an efficient negotiation is possible if: (1) PPP financial models were used at the pre-proposal stage to examine the project’s ability in generating enough cash flow; (2) All stakeholders know the most important expectations and the most preferred financial indicators of other stakeholders; and (3) IRR, NPV, Revenue, Operating Cost, and Principal Payback are not considered as the only financial indicators for evaluating PPP projects. By knowing the mutual agreement among stakeholders, any conflicting expectations can also be identified early and it may be possible to accommodate such expectations in the negotiation process. The IPET has been confirmed that it has several implications: (1) possibility to facilitate an efficient negotiation and effective evaluation process; (2) applicability in evaluating PPP seaport projects; and (3) potentially to be extended to other sectors. However, the IPET is designed to be used with financial model, hence it will require an actual PPP financial model

STRUCTURED PROJECT FINANCE FOR PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IN THE U.S.: AN ENHANCED APPROACH TO BETTER ACHIEVE FINANCIAL AND POLICY OBJECTIVES

As existing U.S. infrastructure ages, government entities are looking to the private sector and to alternative financing mechanisms, such as project finance, to help leverage traditional funding sources and pay for the increasing needs. As a result, the use of Public-Private Partnership (P3) delivery method in the U.S. has increased over the last two decades. The question is how the existing cases can be used to potentially enhance the current P3 model both in terms of bankability and overall procurement process maturity. This study is organized into three main parts. In the first section, project finance in general and the role of different credit enhancements in structured project finance in particular have been. In the second section, a QCA analysis has been perfumed to study and compare 18 P3 projects that have been procured in the U.S. over the last two decades. The goal is to identify logical patterns between project characteristics (i.e. capital value, term of contract, construction risk, traffic and revenue risk, and procurement competition level) and financial characteristics (i.e. equity IRR, interest rate on debt and leverage). The results are further analyzed to refine conclusions that to can provide a better understanding of how financing package of P3 projects may change based on project characteristics and policy objectives. In the third section, an enhanced P3 model has been proposed by using crowdfunding. A SWOT analysis has been conducted to explain how the proposed approach can improve current P3 model. The findings of this study can help P3 practitioners to better utilize available tools and also provides them with new tools to further enhance procurement of P3 projects. The case library provides a significant resource to practitioners as well as researchers and the proposed corwdfunding approach is a novel step toward taking P3 projects to a new maturity level

Factors Influencing Customer Satisfaction towards E-shopping in Malaysia

Online shopping or e-shopping has changed the world of business and quite a few people have decided to work with these features. What their primary concerns precisely and the responses from the globalisation are the competency of incorporation while doing their businesses. E-shopping has also increased substantially in Malaysia in recent years. The rapid increase in the e-commerce industry in Malaysia has created the demand to emphasize on how to increase customer satisfaction while operating in the e-retailing environment. It is very important that customers are satisfied with the website, or else, they would not return. Therefore, a crucial fact to look into is that companies must ensure that their customers are satisfied with their purchases that are really essential from the ecommerce’s point of view. With is in mind, this study aimed at investigating customer satisfaction towards e-shopping in Malaysia. A total of 400 questionnaires were distributed among students randomly selected from various public and private universities located within Klang valley area. Total 369 questionnaires were returned, out of which 341 questionnaires were found usable for further analysis. Finally, SEM was employed to test the hypotheses. This study found that customer satisfaction towards e-shopping in Malaysia is to a great extent influenced by ease of use, trust, design of the website, online security and e-service quality. Finally, recommendations and future study direction is provided. Keywords: E-shopping, Customer satisfaction, Trust, Online security, E-service quality, Malaysia