Geographical variation in project cost performance: the Netherlands versus worldwide

摘要

Cost overruns in transport infrastructure projects know no geographicallimits, overruns are a global phenomenon. Nevertheless, the size of costoverruns varies with location. In the Netherlands, cost overruns appear to besmaller compared to the rest of the world. This paper tests whether Dutchprojects perform significantly better in terms of cost overruns than othergeographical areas. It is concluded that for road and tunnel projects, theNetherlands performs similarly to the rest of the world. For rail projects,Dutch projects perform considerably better, with projects having significantlylower percentage cost overruns in real terms (11%) compared to projects inother North West European countries (27%) and in other geographical areas(44%). Bridge projects also have considerably smaller cost overruns: 7% in theNetherlands compared with 45% in other NW European countries and 27% in othergeographical areas. In explaining cost overruns, geography should thereforeclearly be taken into consideration.