Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) of the Contournement de Rabat, Morocco: A focus on road infrastructure

The report evaluates the 41.1 km Rabat bypass road project using the SAVi tool, simulating six risk scenarios and four externalities. It finds that the project is not financially viable based on its own revenues across all scenarios, with negative net present value and insufficient internal rate of return. However, the inclusion of externalities—specifically the value of time saved and the cost of accidents—significantly improves key financial indicators, demonstrating that traditional financial analyses underestimate the project's broader socio-economic value and the risks associated with reduced maintenance or climate change.

• The Rabat bypass project is not financially viable when relying solely on its own revenues under any of the six risk scenarios modelled, exhibiting negative net present value (NPV), an insufficient internal rate of return (IRR), and credit ratios below lender requirements.
• Externalities have a material financial impact on the project, with their value reaching between 13 per cent and 19 per cent of capital and operating and management (O&M) costs.
• The value of time saved and the cost of accidents are the most significant externalities. For example, the cumulative cost of accidents is highest in the 'Reduced Maintenance Expenditure' scenario (EUR 236 million) and the 'Increase in Heavy Vehicle Traffic' scenario (EUR 226.8 million).
• Reducing maintenance expenditure leads to higher overall costs when externalities are considered; the economic and social costs of increased accidents are significantly higher than the savings from lower maintenance spending.
• Climate change causes cumulative negative effects on the project's financial indicators, as demonstrated in Scenario 6, where 2 km of road is damaged every 10 years, leading to additional operational CAPEX of EUR 7.3 million and decreased value of time saved.
• Conventional economic assessments underestimate risks; while the baseline scenario appears balanced in a conventional CBA, it barely breaks even when the full cost of accidents is included, and other risk scenarios show negative results relative to the baseline.

APA

Bassi, A. M., Casier, L., Perera, O., Pallaske, G., & Uzsoki, D. (2019). Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) of the Contournement de Rabat, Morocco: A focus on road infrastructure. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/savi-contournement-morocco-en.pdf

Chicago

Bassi, Andrea M., Liesbeth Casier, Oshani Perera, Georg Pallaske, and David Uzsoki. Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) of the Contournement de Rabat, Morocco: A focus on road infrastructure. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2019. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/savi-contournement-morocco-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bassi |first1=Andrea M. |last2=Casier |first2=Liesbeth |last3=Perera |first3=Oshani |last4=Pallaske |first4=Georg |last5=Uzsoki |first5=David |title=Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) of the Contournement de Rabat, Morocco: A focus on road infrastructure |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=March 2019 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/savi-contournement-morocco-en.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bassi2019sustainable, author = {Bassi, Andrea M. and Casier, Liesbeth and Perera, Oshani and Pallaske, Georg and Uzsoki, David}, title = {{Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) of the Contournement de Rabat, Morocco: A focus on road infrastructure}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2019}, month = mar, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/savi-contournement-morocco-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }