Ethics and Financial Integrity in Highway Project Management

Billions of dollars are invested each year in highway construction and maintenance projects across the world. Up to 5% of these funds are estimated to be lost on account of insufficient ethical and financial oversight. Highway Agencies and tendering authorities are particularly at risk. Implementing financial integrity principles stretches public budgets further and is beneficial to the relation with private sector contractors. According to the World Bank, the most common forms of wrongdoing are collusion
June 18, 2012 Read time: 2 mins

Billions of dollars are invested each year in highway construction and maintenance projects across the world. Up to 5% of these funds are estimated to be lost on account of insufficient ethical and financial oversight. Highway Agencies and tendering authorities are particularly at risk. Implementing financial integrity principles stretches public budgets further and is beneficial to the relation with private sector contractors.

According to the 2332 World Bank, the most common forms of wrongdoing are collusion among firms bidding on a project and fraud and corruption in the execution of the resulting contract. Collusion, bribery, kickbacks and overcharging all affect the financial viability of a project. When construction materials are substituted and quality controls bypassed, it is the useful life of the road and the safety of the user which are at stake.
Encouraging ethical project management practices has long been an important topic for the 713 International Road Federation. Taking a further step, 2462 IRF is now offering the first in a series of certified training course dedicated to the issue of fraud & corruption on highway projects
Led by Michael Avery, an international expert in financial integrity on transportation infrastructure projects, the course will describe the extent of fraud and corruption, develop specific risk profiles and detail available internal control instruments. “There is good and bad news”, noted Michael Avery “The bad news is that fraud & corruption exist at all phases of highway development. The good news is that effective tools have now been developed to greatly reduce its impact”. The course will examine practical case studies, apply lessons learned and encourage delegates to develop organisation-level action plans.

Please take a moment to consider the impacts of unethical practices within your industry and sign up for the course by contacting Magid Elabyad at %$Linker: Email 0 0 0 oLinkExternal [email protected] IRF News false mailto:[email protected] true false%>

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • McKinsey to present major construction sector report at bauma
    March 3, 2016
    Consultancy McKinsey and Company will launch its report Perspectives on the Construction Equipment Industry in Europe during the upcoming bauma exhibition in Munich. The report will be presented at joint seminar with the CECE – Committee for European Construction Equipment – in the bauma fairgrounds on April 13 when leading McKinsey analysts and CECE officials discuss main trends and challenges facing manufactures and buyers of equipment.
    Read More
  • ERF sets out plans for 2014 symposium
    May 19, 2014
    The road infrastructure sector, in its strive to deliver better products for its customers, such as road authorities, has worked hard to develop innovative solutions. These are intended to be more durable, making them more cost-effective in the long-run, and also more environmentally friendly. In its efforts, however, it has often been frustrated by a rigid legal framework that leaves little room for manoeuvre to its customers. Until last year, existing rules for public procurement at EU level gave almost u
    Read More
  • The IRF is planning a key event in Portugal’s capital Lisbon
    March 6, 2012
    Arrangements are proceeding full-speed ahead for what promises to be an exceptional IRF World Meeting from 25-28 May in Lisbon, Portugal. An outstanding technical programme has been finalised, the last remaining exhibition stands are being snapped up and an exhilarating social programme is in place.
    Read More
  • IRF develops e-learning approach
    August 28, 2013
    Enhancing the sustainability of road planning, construction and operation has long been one of IRF Geneva's priority themes. With the call for greener construction practices increasing worldwide, IRF is helping to both encourage and inform this evolution through an authoritative new online resource. Developed by the New Zealand Transport Agency, the ‘Environmental Management and Urban Design online learning tool’ offers a comprehensive series of learning modules, particularly targeted to the needs of tr
    Read More

Highlighted Content