Agent-Based Simulation Modeling for the Evaluation and Dynamic Adjustment of Project Benefits in Urban Rail Transit PPPs
Publication: Journal of Management in Engineering
Volume 39, Issue 2
Abstract
Urban rail transit (URT) public–private partnership (PPP) projects are long-term, complex projects involving numerous stakeholders. Various unforeseeable events make the benefits of these projects uncertain, and disputes about the distribution and adjustment of benefits can seriously threaten project success. Therefore, there is a pressing need to effectively evaluate the project benefits available to various stakeholders and design a dynamic benefit-adjustment mechanism to ensure the successful completion of URT PPP projects. In full consideration of the complexities of projects of this nature and the adaptive behaviors of different stakeholders, a modeling framework was proposed to simulate the realization and dynamic adjustment of project benefits as a complex and comprehensive system defined by the microlevel dynamic behaviors of stakeholders and interactions among these behaviors through agent-based modeling (ABM). The framework was utilized to emulate a real-world URT PPP project for demonstration purposes. Next, two scenarios were simulated that considered the effects of the purchase behavior of the public and decisions concerning benefit adjustment on project benefits. The framework is a powerful decision support tool with regard to the benefits of URT PPP projects in that it can promote the maximization of overall benefits and the sustainability of URT projects.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors’ special thanks go to all reviewers of the paper and to the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC-71671042 and 72072031), the Qinglan Project of Jiangsu Province of China, and the Graduate Research and Innovation Projects of Jiangsu Province (KYCX18_0201) for financially supporting this research.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Management in Engineering
Volume 39 • Issue 2 • March 2023
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 15, 2021
Accepted: Sep 6, 2022
Published online: Dec 2, 2022
Published in print: Mar 1, 2023
Discussion open until: May 2, 2023
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Business management
- Construction engineering
- Construction management
- Dynamic models
- Engineering fundamentals
- Infrastructure
- Models (by type)
- Practice and Profession
- Project management
- Public private partnership
- Public transportation
- Rail transportation
- Simulation models
- Transportation engineering
- Transportation management
- Urban and regional development
- Urban areas
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