White Books on Transport have been compiled for 15 regions of Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Each of them is an official document for nonspecialists who make decisions on transport development at various levels of government. There are White Books for all types of transport, concerned with the investment strategy for developing a region's whole transport system, and White Books emphasising roads. This paper discusses the different sections of a White Book, which cover: (1) a pre-feasibility study for investing in transport under the conditions of a transition economy; (2) assessing the level of transport development in a region; (3) investment priorities in relation to the acuteness of transport problems; priorities in relation to the acuteness of transport problems; (4) the role of transport in advancing a region socially and economically; (5) development strategies; and (6) financial scenarios and investment efficiency. They are discussed with special reference to White Books for developing roads. The development of the road network of the Pskov region of north-west Russia is used as an illustrative example.
Abstract