According to VTV, no significant cost savings in design work have been observed, at least not yet.
State economy the inspection agency (VTV) considers the project company model in planning railway investments problematic from the point of view of the state finances, even though the current project companies Turku hourly train, Suomi-rata and Itärata have functioned effectively according to it.
VTV found out how well the project company model supports the appropriateness, efficiency and achievement of goals in the planning of railway connections.
From the point of view of state finances, VTV does not recommend project companies for planning large investments in the rail network. According to it, the project company model has not yet been found to result in significant cost savings in engineering work.
“Even though the planning task and role of the project companies was clearly defined, there was some room for interpretation in the rest of their task description. In addition, an unforeseen need for additional planning and obligations has arisen for the Norwegian Railways Agency,” states the release.
VTV also draws attention to the fact that Finnish legislation does not recognize the project company as a designer of the state railway network.
VTV considers the risks of the project company model in the planning of railway investments to be significant from the state's point of view.
The audit report shows that the agency considers it problematic, for example, that the parallel planning of three large railway projects has tied up a large amount of state funding, and that the state had not decided, for example, the alignment options for all rail connections or clarified the obligations of the Norwegian Railways Agency for the planning of the railways before giving the planning responsibility to the project companies.
VTV recommends that the Government should carefully consider the use of project companies as a form of financing and organization for railway project planning and transparently justify the choices it makes. Before the implementation of large railway projects, the Government should decide on major issues, such as railway alignments and ensure the management of significant risks.
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