Infrastructure Planning and
Management
Risks and Risk Management in Infrastructure
Projects
Agenda
1.
Risks in Infrastructure
2.
Quantitative Risk Analysis
3.
Qualitative Risk Management
4.
Risk Management Strategies
4 Major categories of risks in
Infrastructure Projects
Political Risks E.g.
Risk of Expropriation
Contract Reneging
Cancellations
Delays in Permits and Approvals
Economic Risks E.g.
Currency Devaluations
Inflation and lowering of purchasing
power
Demand Forecast Errors
Socio-Economic Risks E.g.
Community Protests
Unwillingness to Pay
Technological Risks E.g.
Construction Delays
Inefficiencies in Operations and
Maintenance
Two Risk Management Approaches
Decisioneering
(Probabalistic)
Managerial
(Strategic)
The Decisioneering Approach
You are building a toll State of the Probability
Economy
road
H,M,L correspond to
Good
0.25
three different traffic
volumes conditional
OK
0.45
on the state of the
economy (According
Bad
0.3
to your Expert)
Pay-Offs
Your Initial
Investment
= $1,000,000
Traffic
Volumes
Revenue
H(igh)
$1,400,000
M(edium)
$1,200,000
L(ow)
$500,000
Experts Conditional Probabilities
Economy
vs Traffic
Good
OK
Bad
High
0.6
0.4
0.1
Medium
0.3
0.45
0.3
Low
0.1
0.15
0.6
Will You Invest?
Why or Why Not?
Decision
Variable
State
Variable 1
State of the Economy
Good
Invest
0.25
OK
0.45
State
Variable 2
Traffic
0.6
H
M
0.3
L
0.1
H
M
L
Outcome
Prob
1.4 M
0.15
1.2 M
0.075
0.5 M
0.025
0.4
1.4 M
0.18
0.45
1.2 M
0.2025
0.15
0.5 M
0.0675
0.1
1.4 M
0.03
0.3
1.2 M
0.09
0.6
0.5 M
0.18
Bad
Do Not
Invest
0.3
H
M
L
1M
Total 1
Expected Value of the Investment
EV = (Outcome * Probability)
= 1.4 (0.15 +0.18 + 0.03) + 1.2 (0.075 +
0.2025 + 0.09) + 0.5(0.025 + 0.0675 + 0.18)
= $1,081,250
Since this value is greater than the initial
Investment of $1,000,000 a risk neutral investor
will invest
Risk Management
The probabilistic approach is useful to estimate
and quantify risks and make decisions on
whether or not to go ahead.
However to manage the more fuzzy political
and socioeconomic risks, the Managerial
Model depicted in the next two slides (taken
from The Strategic Management of Large
Engineering Projects by Miller and Lessard, can
be more useful.
The Managerial Approach
The Layering Model
The Managerial Model
explained
In this model, all the various project risks are
assessed and understood
Risks that can be mitigated are mitigated. For
instance, Construction Delays risks are mitigated
by using a sophisticated schedule
The residual risks are then first allocated to the
party best able to bear those risks. E.g.
Construction delay risk is allocated to the EPC
contractor, demand risk may be allocated to the
government if there are widespread economic
fluctuations. This is usually done through the
contract but can also be done relationally.
The Managerial Model
explained
If risks cannot be assigned to parties, the project
organization can come up with a diversification
strategy across many projects
Risks not addressed by diversification can be
addressed by lobbying and institutional
transformation of the rules of the game.
Any remaining risks will just have to be
embraced.
In this manner, an infrastructure project
organization can effectively deal with risks that
arise on an infrastructure project
Thank You