D. COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS

摘要

Major infrastructure projects consume valuable human and financial resources. These are often limited and care must be taken to avoid wasteful investments which divert resources from more deserving projects. To ensure that a balanced decision can be made on both financial and social grounds and that correct investment priorities are established between competing projects it is necessary to analyze and evaluate the benefits. Similar comparative analyses will also be necessary within the development of individual projects in order to make decisions on elements such as site selection, type and extent of facilities, phasing, etc. Cost-Benefit Analysis is a useful aid to such decision-making. Techniques of this type have been employed for over half a century with the « public economy » form of analysis being accepted as the most appropriate in recent years.