Towards sustainable infrastructure development through integrated contracts: Experiences with inclusiveness in Dutch infrastructure projects

Current complex society necessitates finding inclusive arrangements for delivering sustainable road infrastructure integrating design, construction and maintenance stages of the project lifecycle. In this article we investigate whether linking stages by integrated contracts can lead to more sustainable road infrastructure development by assessing public and private experiences with inclusiveness of integrated Dutch Design-Build-Finance-Maintain (DBFM) projects throughout the procurement, design, construction and maintenance and operation stages. Through semi-structured interviews and document analysis, we find that public and private parties experience that inclusiveness is increased by DBFM contracts, although differences between investigated actor, scope and time dimensions of inclusiveness exist. We conclude that integrated contracts can lead to more sustainable infrastructure development because of the lifecycle optimization incentives provided by the linked contract stages of design, construction and maintenance. Based on our findings we recommend to pursue three avenues towards more sustainable infrastructure development: green procurement, strategic asset management and relational contracting. ► We examine whether integrated contracts can lead to more inclusive road development. ► We applied interviews and document analysis in integrated Dutch DBFM projects. ► We found opportunities to increase inclusiveness in actor, scope and time dimensions. ► We conclude that integrated contracts can link stages and cause lifecycle optimizations. ► We recommend green procurement, strategic asset management and relational contracting.