Public Lecture: The Highway Development and Management Model (HDM-4): Understanding the Importance of this Model to Road Management and Transport Economics

The Highway Development and Management Model (HDM-4) is the de-facto international decision-support tool for analysing road investment and maintenance choices at project and program levels. The main argument is that a road's true cost is not what the road agency spends. The true cost is the total transport cost over the life of the asset: agency costs plus the much larger costs borne by road users. That idea links engineering-based road management to economic appraisal. About the Speaker Dr Akli Ourad is a senior transport and road infrastructure expert with over 36 years of international experience across more than 35 countries. He specializes in road asset management, transport economics, infrastructure financing, maintenance planning, and road sector policy. He has advised governments, road administrations, and international institutions on road network management, investment planning, institutional reform, and performance-based maintenance. He has also trained professionals in HDM-4, road asset management, and multi-year maintenance strategies.