Capital budgeting for Tren Urbano extensions

Abstract

A new capital programming tool, CHOICES©MIT 1998, is being developed to support public agencies in this process. CHOICES©MIT 1998 is a decision support tool that is used to assess and compare alternative configurations of a collection of projects ("a portfolio") of interest to procurement officials. While the CHOICES©MIT 1998 tool focuses upon financial features of each project in the portfolio, and multiple delivery strategies for each project, the purpose of doing so is to free the analyst to focus upon other factors during the development of preferred configurations of the entire portfolio. This new software is tested using the Puerto Rico Highway and Transportation Authority as an example. The Authority is responsible of the construction of highways and mass transit systems in Puerto Rico, including construction of a new rail system, Tren Urbano. CHOICES©MIT 1998 was applied to model the historic financial data of the Agency, including revenues and expenses. The software was also used to create a portfolio of projects that includes the Construction Improvement Program, Tren Urbano, and future extensions of the project to Carolina, Old San Juan, and the Airport that are in the planning stage. The model was used to make a sensitivity analysis of the capital programming variables. This research was funded by the Puerto Rico Highway Authority by means of the UPR/MIT Tren Urbano Program.