2.2 Summary Of Models

Table 2 displays the results from this study and summarizes the various procurement practices used in these countries. This table also includes the "Contract Type", "Contractor Selection Criteria" for each associated project delivery type, and a comment section for other explanations.

Information from Table 2 reveals that the main model for road projects remains the traditional (DBB model), which has been extensively used and probably will continue to be the main method for construction services for most countries, except in England. The separation of design and planning from the construction portion continues to be favored amongst the construction industry and many clients. The DBB results are discussed further in Section 2.2.1.

The Design-Build (DB) model is increasingly used as compared to the results from Pakkala (2002). More and more projects continue to use the DB method and many countries desire to test the efficiency and effectiveness. It is interesting to note that basically the Anglo-Saxon countries, USA (several DOTs), The Netherlands (has announced that Design-Build will be used extensively by 2007), and Finland are utilizing the Design-Build (DB) model. In England Design-Build is the standard practice for new projects and then the PPP model through the Private Finance Initiative (PFI). England is the only country in this study that does not use the traditional model and uses either Design-Build or variations of DB. Also, Ireland (not included in study) has joined England, and does not utilize the traditional model (DBB) anymore. In Finland, Design-Build is the model of choice, and basically all medium and large sized projects will be Design-Build, and small projects (typically under 2 million) will depend upon a thorough examination and what projects are practical for Design-Build. All models are being tested according to Finnra's "Procurement Strategy" Finnra (2003). Design-Build project delivery model has been used for road projects since the 1990s and has been expanding steadily in many countries and throughout the world despite the somewhat slow acceptance and implementation. As mentioned, The Netherlands has recently announced that the 90% of projects beginning in the year 2007 will be completed using the Design-Build model in Rijkswaterstaat (2004). The Design-Build results will be discussed further in Section 2.2.2.

Only Finland has completed any road projects using the Design-Build-Operate-Maintain (DBOM) model. This project is the extension of the relatively recently completed PPP motorway project (1989) called the E-75 Jarvenpaa-Lahti motorway. This new DBOM project extends the motorway to Heinola and is called Lahti-Heinola project. This project was completed on November 14, 2005. Massachusetts Highways in the USA was planning to use the DBOM or the DBFO model for the Route 3 project, but the actual tendering process was a Design-Build method that included finance, with a possibility of a maintenance option that was left to the discretion of the client (this is not a pure DBOM model). Refer to Section 2.2.3 for further details of the DBOM model.

It is interesting to note that the Design-Build-Finance-Operate (DBFO) or PPP model seems to be progressing forward as compared to the similar study by Pakkala (2002). More and more countries have tested and tried the PPP model and many other countries have been interested in this model. One of the main reasons for the increase in popularity and acceptance of the PPP model has been the lack of public funding for new projects. Also, some countries are testing the efficiency of the PPP model to determine the performance against traditional and Design-Build models. The PPP model and results are discussed in further detail in Section 2.2.4.

There are other project delivery methods that might be considered as PPPs, such as BOT, BTO, BOOT and all their variations. However, these are very rare as there have been only three projects in all the countries included in this study. They are almost a form of privatization, which tends to carry a negative connotation and is not detailed in this study. The projects that had used these models for roads are the Toronto 407 ETR (Ontario Ministry of Transportation - actually an auction type), the Melbourne City Link in Victoria, Australia, and the Dulles toll road in the US state of Virginia. One of the remarks was that these privatization models are being planned to introduce tolls or road user charging systems.

Some of the Anglo-Saxon countries like Australia & New Zealand are using the new "Alliance model" for road projects. The Alliance model is quite interesting and a new model that requires much understanding and substantial investigation to determine the value of such a process for any project. There are some issues that need to be considered and these projects should be selected in their early stages before too much design/planning has been completed. More details about the alliance model can be found in Section 2.2.5.

Table 2 Summary of International Results - Project Delivery Methods