This paper summarises work carried out for the European Parliament. Each EU Member State has its own planning procedures and the paper compares the planning and implementation procedures of each EU Member State, commenting on differences and efficiencies within the systems and how planning procedures have affected the implementation of transport projects. In particular, the paper focuses on the implementation of major infrastructure projects - those projects of regional and national significance - and identifies the key requirements for effective planning and development of these large-scale transport developments. The paper contributes to the current debate on how best to implement major infrastructure projects. A literature review identified that debate surrounding how to plan and implement major infrastructure projects in the most efficient way was occurring in all Member States. Fourteen major infrastructure projects were studied from five EU Member States. The major infrastructure projects were generally subject to the land use planning procedure of each Member State. The implementation of the major infrastructure projects were further complicated due to their size and influence on a large number of local authorities, their costs and their significance to countries and regions. This often resulted in the planning and decision processes being lengthy and costly. Identifying Best Practice in Implementing Major Infrastructure Projects is discussed. Best practice in the planning phase is defined in the paper as a "project that achieves a thorough environmental appraisal and public and political support within an efficient timescale". Best practice in the implementation phase is defined in the paper as the "construction of the project within a short timescale and to a good quality". The case studies that achieved successful implementation often involved private companies. For the covering abstract see ITRD E126595.
Abstract