Procedures and Criteria Used to Evaluate the Financial Viability of Private TollRoad Projects by States and Private Entities Involved in the Approval, Financing and/or Evaluation of Private Toll Road Projects

摘要

This is the second in a series of six research reports focusing on the process ofpreparing and evaluating feasibility studies for private toll road projects in Texas. At present, one of the requirements for preliminary approval of a private toll road by the Texas Transportation Commissioon is that the Commission must find, on the basis of a feasibility study submitted by the sponsors of a private toll road project, that the project will be financially viable. An attempt to evaluate the financial viability of one private toll road project seeking preliminary approval by the Commission revealed some problems in the evaluation process, stemming from an inadequate list of the data and information that should be included in the required feasibility study and an imprecise definition of financial viability. The overall objective of this research project is to develop improved procedures for TxDOT's use in determining whether a proposed private toll road project will be financially viable. This report describes the procedures and criteria that other states, investment banks, and bond rating agencies use to evaluate the financial viability of private toll road projects.