Linking East and West Bangladesh: The Jamuna Bridge Project

Abstract

The Jamuna Bridge project is a case that illustrates an integrated approach to project appraisal. An integrated approach allows analysts to examine financial, economic, distributive, and risk analysis in conjunction with each other such that no single aspect is left to be examined in isolation. The economic analysis, which looks at the project’s impact on Bangladesh’s overall economy, presents a method of computing the real economic benefits of the bridge, including savings in vehicle operating costs, and the value of time savings gained by passenger and freight traffic. The financial analysis of such an infrastructure project checks on the sustainability of the service agency (the Bridge Authority) over time. Sensitivity and risk analyses are central to the evaluation of this project because they identify the most critical variables and allow a probability distribution of values to be used in the model, rather than a single deterministic value. The distributive analysis identifies who would gain or lose if the bridge project was undertaken, which, in turn, indicates who would be likely supporters or opponents of the project.