Abstract
Energy price is related to more than half of the total life cycle cost of asphalt pavements. Furthermore, the fluctuation related to price of energy has been much higher than the general inflation and interest rate. This makes the energy price inflation an important variable that should be addressed when performing life cycle cost (LCC) studies re- garding asphalt pavements. The present value of future costs is highly sensitive to the selected discount rate. Therefore, the choice of the discount rate is the most critical element in LCC analysis during the life time of a project. The objective of the paper is to present a discount rate for asphalt pavement projects as a function of interest rate, general inflation and energy price inflation. The discount rate is defined based on the portion of the energy related costs during the life time of the pavement. Consequently, it can reflect the financial risks related to the energy price in asphalt pavement projects. It is suggested that a discount rate sensitivity analysis for asphalt pavements in Sweden should range between –20 and 30%.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1001-1008 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Journal of Civil Engineering and Management |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| Early online date | 18 Dec 2015 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2016 |
Bibliographical note
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Civil Engineering and Management on 18/12/15, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.3846/13923730.2014.945951Keywords
- discount rate
- life cycle cost
- pavement design
- road & highways