Administration & Finance

The ITR Concession Company (ITRCC) receives the Administration and Finance Award for its innovative methods of procuring and contracting the 80/90 PUSH project along the Indiana Toll Road. The Indiana Toll Road runs 157 miles east-west across the entire state of Indiana, from the Illinois to Ohio state lines. 80/90 PUSH is massive in scope and includes upgrading 292 lane miles (73 linear miles), 9 interchanges, and 53 bridges, and installing a fiber optic backbone along the corridor as a step to implementing an Intelligent Transportation System. With a $220 million budget it is the largest investment in the Indiana Toll Road since its initial construction in 1956.

80/90 PUSH incorporated an aggressive procurement and delivery schedule to deliver the project swiftly and with minimal travel disruptions. To meet deadlines and minimize costs ITRCC utilized an innovative blend of Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) and Design-Build project delivery strategies. ITRCC involved contractors early in the project, ran concurrent design processes, and remained committed to transparency and communication with prospective partners. ECI is typically performed with one contracted design team, but by offering $250,000 to the unsuccessful team ITRCC kept multiple parties involved and maintained competitive pricing tension.

Considering the scope of investment in 80/90 PUSH, ITRCC maintained a strong contractual position throughout the project and implemented specific penalties for delays, traffic queues, and cost overruns. ITRCC mitigated future risks by negotiating an extended 7-year warranty thus assuring a well maintained, high quality product. Today 80/90 PUSH is ahead of schedule and under budget. Over 100,000 working hours have been logged without a single lost time injury. The safety, speed, and cost effectiveness of the project reflects the exemplary partnering and procurement strategies demonstrated by ITRCC.

The Tomei Expressway is a major artery that has made invaluable contributions to Japan’s economy, industry, and culture since it opened in 1969. But after nearly a half-century of often explosive economic development, traffic volumes have increased and the vehicles themselves are larger, so that most sections of the road face serious congestion. The 162-kilometer Shin (New) Tomei Expressway provides a second mobility option to ensure the free flow of people and goods between Tokyo, the center of Japan’s economy, and Nagoya, one of its main industrial cities. The new highway was designed to dramatically improve reliability and service levels on the existing Tomei Expressway; Provide more resilient infrastructure in Shinzuoka Prefecture along the Tomei Expressway, National Highway No. 1, and Japan Railway’s Tokaido line, an area that faces a higher risk of landslides, typhoons, and other severe conditions; Revitalize the national and regional economy by speeding up the flow of people and goods between two of Japan’s major metropolitan areas.

Vital Stats

• 162 kilometers with 12 all-electronic tolling points
• Construction cost of ¥2,571 billion (US$25.7 billion), funded mainly through the bond market
• 92% reduction in episodes of traffic gridlock spanning 10 kilometers or more, from 227 to 18 per year, based on combined volume on the Tomei and Shin Tomei Expressways
• 27.5% reduction in collisions involving human injury or death, from 521 to 378 per year
• 70% of through traffic diverted to the Shin Tomei, with 80% of local traffic in Shizuoka Prefecture remaining on the original Tomei Expressway, and larger, long-haul vehicles switching to the new road
• 13% increase in traffic volume within the region, from 73,000 to 83,000 vehicles per day
• 97% increase in commercial/industrial land transactions in Shizuoka Prefecture, from 37 to 73 per year, in the first year after the Shin Tomei Expressway opened
• 74% increase in the percentage of non-local tourists visiting Mt. Fuji Seseragi Park, from 23% before the road opened to 41% after.

Innovative Features

Central Nippon Expressway Co. Ltd. funded construction primarily through the bond market, with the understanding that the Japan Expressway Holding Debt Repayment Agency (JEHDRA) would take ownership of the road and assume its debts after the project was complete. The agency completed the project on budget, and almost a year ahead of schedule. The leasing agreement between Central Nippon and JEHDRA ensured that (1) Project costs would be fully repaid with interest; (2) an essential project would be completed earlier than would otherwise be possible, while minimizing the burden on public funds and allowing a profit for the private concessionaire and users benefit from a flexible tolling system that offers excellent ancillary services.

The project gave Central Nippon an opportunity to acquire field experience with new technologies and systems that will now be applied on other roads in the company’s portfolio. The highway uses real-time camera footage and back office analysis to track road conditions and advise drivers of congestion, collisions, or obstructions on the roadway, via electronic signage and onboard systems. The Shin Tomei Expressway runs on the straightest possible line through mountainous terrain. Central Nippon used state-of-the-art design and construction techniques to protect genetic diversity in the project area, incorporating design structures that would help prevent landslides and protect local ecosystems. The project relied on an innovative excavation method to build the large, cross-sectional tunnels the roadway required, and introduced a new, compact bridge design that featured long-span, lightweight superstructures.  Agency Contact, Satoshi Naito, Section Chief, s.naito.ab@c-nexco.co.jp, +81-3-5776-5646

The CCR Group is one of the largest companies in the area of infrastructure concessions in Latin America. It administers 2,437 kilometers of the Nation’s highways under concession in the States of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Paraná, and managed by the CCR Ponte, CCR NovaDutra, CCR ViaLagos, CCR RodoNorte, CCR AutoBAn, CCR ViaOeste, CCR RodoAnel, CCR SPVias, and Renovias concessionaires and employs approximately 7,000 people. Because of its relevance in the industry and its growth strategy (CCR acquires, on average one new business per year). The CCR Group perceived the need to enable all of its leadership levels and sought out Brazil’s most respected institutions, in 2010, to develop its Leadership Development Program (LDP). The result of that process was to choose the Dom Cabral Foundation (DCF), which created, together with the company’s People Management staff, a customized program that was prepared especially for the CCR Group. DCF was created in 1976 as a center for developing executives, business people, and companies, and it is one of the most renowned and respected organizations in Brazil in this segment. The Leadership Development Program (LDP) began in September 2010 and completed its first cycle in February 2011. During that time, approximately 200 executives from a broad range of leadership phases participated in the first three training modules, which dealt with the subjects of Corporate Governance, People Management, and Financial Management. Also included in this phase are bi-monthly workshops with the CCR Group’s top management. The other LPD cycles are already under way, and the conclusion of the entire process is expected for early 2012.

Considering that the customers of Tollways have higher service level demands compared to the users of non-tolled motorways, a “Monitoring the success” action has been adopted by Attica Tollway. This “Monitoring the success” action is based on the development of a system for monitoring and analysing the trends of the outcome of an urban Tollway and it acts as a mechanism protecting the expected “value” that arises from the payment of  toll fee.  The major components of this action are the "Key Performance Indicators" (KPIs), which are based, to a great extent, on a multifunctional survey, in reference mainly to safety and customer service.

The objective of the Commodity Hedging Strategy is to protect the Company (“N3TC”) against wild fluctuations whilst ensuring that it benefits from any downward movement in the dollar’s price of oil or upward movement in the Rand exchange rate. With the assistance of N3TC’s technical personnel, the projected consumption of bitumen and diesel was determined for each six monthly period to 31 December 2009. A competitive tender process was entered into with the financial institutions, the result of which was that derivative contracts were taken out for each six month period based on the projected consumption and a price determined by reference to the aggregate of the forward curve of the Rand exchange rate and the relevant commodity benchmark derived from the dollar oil price.

The efforts of the Illinois Tollway to market I-PASS and generate non-toll revenue have resulted in substantial growth in I-PASS sales and usage since the new leadership team was put in place in early 2003. Some of the most fruitful tactics of the Tollway have included unique partnerships with retailers, broadcasters, transit service providers and oases over the road site developers. In total these partnerships will generate over $4.0 million dollars in advertising and marketing dollars for the Illinois Tollway, which in the previous 10 years had only budgeted roughly over $500,000 total.  Not only does this save valuable resources, it also helps counter the negative public feedback that often results when toll money is spent to promote Tollway’s and electronic toll collection.

By using tax-exempt commercial paper, the North Texas Tollway Authority was able to lower interest rates in the early years of construction on projects such as the President George Bush Turnpike and increase debt capacity.  Commercial paper eliminates the need for capitalized interest and eliminates the potential for negative “costs of carry” in the construction fund.  In comparison to the traditional fixed-rate bond program the commercial paper program was projected to save approximately $43 million on $500 million in financing new projects.