MULTI-OBJECTIVE PRIORITIZATION OF PROJECTS OF A CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM FOR TIJUANA, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO

In April 2003, the Comisión Estatal de Servicios Públicos de Tijuana (CESPT), the water and sanitation utility of Tijuana and Playas de Rosarito, in Baja California, Mexico, adopted a water and wastewater master plan which lays out a capital improvements program (CIP) of approximately 1.2 billion dollars for the next twenty years.A project prioritization methodology, including a financial analysis, was developed to identify those projects of the CIP that are of highest priority to CESPT, and that may be implemented in the short term given CESPT's financial and institutional capabilities. The methodology included the grouping of projects based on interdependency, screening by means of a subjective ranking based on the concepts of “importance” and “need,” a decision-making workshop including the relevant stakeholders, and financial analysis for the projects preliminarily selected during the workshop.The grouping of projects based on dependency and the pre-workshop ranking of projects based on “importance” and “need” proved to be a very effective first step for prioritization and served as a guideline for workshop discussions. The simple and userfriendly financial model developed for the project allowed for real-time runs during the workshop and for quick analysis of the potential rate impacts resulting from the implementation of the prioritized projects. The simplicity of the operation of the financial model allowed for quick iterations in the ranking process to select a final list of projects that served as the foundation for a strategic plan for project implementation.