Glasgow Caledonian University

School of the Engineering and Built Environment Construction Economics and Procurement

Construction Economics Assignment

Edinburgh Tram Extension

Assignment Brief

This assignment is based on the proposed extension to the Edinburgh Tram system from York Place through to Newhaven. It is intended to be undertaken in Groups of three, four or five students, although an option for individual students is available. Each group should undertake the following three tasks.

Task One:

Estimate the impact of the project on the local economy during the construction phase. This should focus on the direct, indirect and induced effects of the works on: Gross Domestic Product, Employment, Income, and Imports. Use the Input-Output Tables for Scotland provided for the basic estimate making any adjustments deemed necessary. The negative impacts of the construction including traffic disruption should be considered. Please state any assumptions made.

Task Two:

Discuss the possible impact on the local economy of the tram extension once it was opened. This should take account of the arguments used in the Updated Business Case for the Tram Extension. Other approaches may also be used including Dynamic Input-Output Methods and Cost Benefit Analysis.

Task Three:

Look at and analysis the various approaches to procurement for the project. Conventional procurement v design and build should be assessed in the light of the failure of the novated design and build approach employed in the previous phase. Should the service diversions be part of the main infrastructure contract or left as a separate Framework Agreement? Should a collaborative contract such as NEC3 be used or should a recourse contract such as FIDIC be employed?

A final report should be submitted along with a slide presentation plus any background information such as spreadsheets.

A Briefing note will be made available shortly to suggest possible approaches to the above tasks.

An appendix should be added to the submission to give details of the membership of the group, the tasks and subtasks identified. The responsibility of each of the subtasks to each group member should be given. Minutes of Group Meetings should be attached along with a draft programme for the assignment including key milestones. This information should later be updated and appended to the final report

Marking Schedule for Group Assignment.

Marking Schedule for Individual Assignment.

Students taking the project as an individual need not submit the Initial Report and should select any one of the above tasks

Task One: Backward Linkages

Task Two: Forward Linkages