A Sustainable Asset Valuation of a Road Infrastructure Project in Queensland, Australia

This report describes an Excel-based cost-benefit analysis (CBA) model developed by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA). The model is designed to evaluate 'betterment' road infrastructure projects in Queensland, Australia, by quantifying not only direct avoided reconstruction costs but also indirect social, economic, and environmental 'non-road' benefits to determine the total societal value of resilience investments.

• The developed CBA model expands traditional financial assessments by integrating an economic valuation of 15 distinct 'non-road' indicators. These indicators capture indirect and induced outcomes such as road disruption (fuel and travel time), pollution (air, noise, and water), GHG emissions, lost market access for crops, fish, and livestock, access to essential services and schools, and mental health impacts.
• The model provides two distinct sets of performance metrics—Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Net Present Value (NPV), and Benefit-to-Cost Ratio (BCR)—to allow decision-makers to compare a purely financial assessment (direct investment streams) against a broader economic assessment (including all avoided costs and non-road benefits).
• Case study applications demonstrate that including non-road benefits can significantly alter the perceived viability of a project. In one example, a project that was not financially viable (negative NPV and IRR) became slightly positive in terms of BCR and IRR when economic non-road benefits were included, suggesting some projects are worth investing in from a societal perspective even if they lack direct financial profitability.
• The model utilizes specific quantification formulas for various impacts, such as calculating lost crop revenue by multiplying total affected area (ha) by land productivity (tonnes/ha) and crop price ($/tonnes), and estimating mental health costs using a benchmark of AUD 431 per person per year based on 2019–2020 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data.
• A retrospective analysis of the Aurukun Access Road project showed high economic and financial viability. The project involved bitumen-sealing a 10-km section of road at a cost of AUD 1,092,406, which subsequently withstood eight extreme climate events, resulting in a BCR greater than 6 and an IRR exceeding 140%.

APA

Bassi, A. M., Guzzetti, M., Siersted, M., & Casier, L. (2023). A Sustainable Asset Valuation of a Road Infrastructure Project in Queensland, Australia. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-04/savi-queensland-australia-road-infrastructure.pdf

Chicago

Bassi, Andrea M., Marco Guzzetti, Morten Siersted, and Liesbeth Casier. A Sustainable Asset Valuation of a Road Infrastructure Project in Queensland, Australia. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2023. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-04/savi-queensland-australia-road-infrastructure.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bassi |first1=Andrea M. |last2=Guzzetti |first2=Marco |last3=Siersted |first3=Morten |last4=Casier |first4=Liesbeth |title=A Sustainable Asset Valuation of a Road Infrastructure Project in Queensland, Australia |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=April 2023 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-04/savi-queensland-australia-road-infrastructure.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bassi2023sustainable, author = {Bassi, Andrea M. and Guzzetti, Marco and Siersted, Morten and Casier, Liesbeth}, title = {{A Sustainable Asset Valuation of a Road Infrastructure Project in Queensland, Australia}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2023}, month = apr, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-04/savi-queensland-australia-road-infrastructure.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }