Chapter Two

The Project Cycle

2.1. What is project Cycle?
The way in which projects are planned and carried out follows a
sequence that has become known as the project cycle. The cycle starts
with the identification of an idea and develops that idea into a working
plan that can be implemented and evaluated. Ideas are identified in the
context of an agreed strategy. It provides a structure to ensure that
stakeholders are consulted and relevant information is available, so that
informed decisions can be made at key stages in the life of a project.
The project cycle considers various stages in which each stage not only
is grown out of the proceeding one/those that are under way/but also
leads into the subsequent ones. The planning process does not contain
such a stringent sequence of events since all the aspects of the project
have to be considered simultaneously and, if necessary, adjusted to one
another. Therefore, a project cycle is a self-renewing cycle in that new
projects may grow out of the old ones in a continuous process and self-
sustaining cycle of activity.

These processes can usefully be considered as a comprehensive

sequence in the sense that for the project that is implemented, each stage
naturally follows the proceeding one and leads on to the next. Actually,
the division into stages is artificial; but it helps us to understand that
project planning, though a continuous process over time, has distinct
phases and stages. And therefore, throughout the project cycle, the
primary preoccupation of the analyst is to consider alternatives, evaluate
them, and to make decisions as to which of them should be advanced to
the next stage in the planning process.

Regarding the classification of the aspects for the purpose of project

analysis, there are many equally valid ways in which the project cycle
may be divided and the identifiable stages may be described. There are
alternative models that deal with the project cycle. However, in this text,
and exclusively in this chapter, more emphasis will be given to the two
basic Models that are widely accepted as a model of project by
institutions, analysts, and mostly dealt in academic literatures. These are:
“The Baum Cycle (also called the World Bank Project Cycle)” and
“The UNIDO Project Cycle”. In addition to these two, a third model
developed by Development projects Studies Authority in Ethiopia
(called “The DEPSAs Model”), which is more or less identical with the
UNIDO cycle, will be briefly discussed.

2.2. World Bank’s Project Cycle

A project with the characteristic already outlined above typically run
through at least several separable stages of activities that can be thought
of as constituting a definite sequence, which some writers and
institutions have called “a project cycle”. In this regard, the first basic
model of a project cycle developed by Warren. C. Baum in 1970 was by
then adopted by the World Bank as a project cycle. Initially, this model
had recognized only four main stages in the project cycle, namely:

 Identification
 Preparation
 Appraisal and Selection
 Implementation

Later in 1978, the author has added additional two stages called
“Negotiation” and “Evaluation”. In this version of the Baum model,
negotiation comes after projects pass the appraisal process and become a
candidate for realization. It is after appropriate negotiations that projects
become implementation entity. And then, projects that are implemented
will be the concern for evaluation, which usually closes the cycle as it
gives rise to the identification of new projects. This model, therefore,
includes a total of six identifiable stages in the project cycle. The World
Bank accepted the amendment and hence, this new version has been in
use since then. Thus, each of Baum’s main stages is discussed briefly
below:

1. Identification :

The first stage in the project cycle and in the planning process is to find
potential projects. The sources of projects may be one or more of the
following:
 Some may be “resource based” and stem from the opportunity to
make profitable use of available resources.
 Some projects may be “market based” arising from an identified
demand in home or overseas markets.
 Others may be “need-based” where the purpose is to try to make
available to all people in an area of minimal amounts of certain
basic material requirements and services.
 Well-informed “technical specialists” and “local leaders” are
also common sources of projects. Technical specialists could
identify many areas where they feel new investments might be
profitable, while local leaders may have suggestions about where
investments might be carried out.
 Ideas for new projects also come from “proposals to extend
and/or expand existing programs and projects” as well as from
identifying technological alternatives.

In general, most projects start as an elementary idea. Eventually, some

simple ideas are elaborated into a form to which the title “project” can
be formally applied.

2. Preparation:

Once projects have been identified, there begins a process of

progressively more detailed preparation and analysis of project plans. At
this stage, the project is being seriously considered as a definite
investment action. Project preparation, (also called project formulation),
involves pre-feasibility and feasibility studies and covers the
establishment of commercial, technical, institutional, financial, and
socio-economic feasibility. Decisions have to be made on the scope of
the project, location and site, soil and hydrological requirements, project
size (farm or factory size), etc.

Resource based investigations are undertaken and alternative forms of

projects are explored. Complete technical specifications of distinct
proposals accompanied by full details of financial and economic costs
and benefits are the outcome of the project preparation stage. The
project now exists as a set of tangible proposals. Practically, project
design and formulation is an area in which local and international
consultants are very active, especially for big projects that cover large
areas and have big budgets.

3. Appraisal and Selection:

After a project has been prepared, it is generally appropriate for a critical

review or to conduct an independent appraisal. This provides an
opportunity to re-examine every aspect of the project plan and determine
whether the proposal is appropriate and sound or not before large sums
are committed. Generally, internal government staffs only are used for
this work and not consultants and projects are appraised both in the field
and at the desk level. Appraisals should cover at least seven aspects of a
project, each of which must have been given special consideration
during the project preparation phase:

a. Technical: here the appraisers concentrate in verifying whether

what is proposed will work in the way suggested or not.
b. Financial : the appraisers try to see if the requirements of money
needed by the project have been calculated properly, their sources
are all identified, and reasonable plans for their repayment are
made where necessary.
c. Commercial: the way the necessary inputs for the project are
conceived to be supplied is examined and the arrangements for the
disposal of the products are verified.
d. Incentive: the appraisers see to it whether things are arranged in
such a way that all those whose participation is required will find it
in their interest to take part in the project, at least to the extent
envisaged in the plan.
e. Economic: the appraisers here try to see whether what is proposed
is good from the viewpoint of the national economic development
interest, all project effects (positive as well as negative) are taken
into account, and check if all are correctly valued.
f. Managerial: this aspect of the appraisal examines if the capacity
exists for operating the project and see if those responsible ones
can operate it satisfactorily. Moreover, it tries to see if the
responsible are given sufficient power and scope to do what is
required.
g. Organizational: the appraisers examine the project it is organized
internally and externally into units, contract, policy, institution, etc
so as to allow the proposals to be carried out properly and to allow
for change as the project develops.

The appraisal process builds on the project plan but may involve new
information if the appraisal team feels that some of the data used at
preparation or some assumptions are faulty. The implications of the
project on the society and the environment are also more thoroughly
investigated and documented. Similarly, the technical design, financial
measures, commercial aspects, incentives, and economic parameters are
thoroughly scrutinized. These issues are the subjects of specialized
appraisal report. On the basis of an appraisal report, decisions are made
about whether to go ahead with the project or not. The appraisal may
also change the project plan or develop a new plan, that is, comment
made at the appraisal stage frequently give rise to alternations in the
project plan (project appraisal).

After appraisal, the viable project proposals are chosen for

implementation on the basis of the priorities of the stakeholders and the
available resources. For instance, Treasury may impose a ceiling on the
ministries with a big portfolio of investments, calling for prioritization of
the core and lower priority projects. In practice, there can be quite a
sequence of project selection decisions. Following appraisal, some
projects may be discarded. If the project involves loan finance, the
lender will almost certainly wish to carry out its own appraisal before
completing negotiations with the borrower.

4. Negotiation and Financing :

Once the project to be implemented is agreed on, for donor funded

projects, discussions are held on funding and associated aspects of
funding such as conditions for grants, repayment period, interest rates on
loans, flow of funds, contributions from stakeholders, and whether there
is co-financing or not. This culminates into an “Agreement Document”
for the project, which binds all the parties involved during
implementation of the project.

5. Implementation:

The objective of any effort in project planning and analysis clearly is to

have a project that can be implemented to the benefit of the society.
Thus, implementation is, perhaps, the most important part of the project
cycle. In this stage, funds are actually disbursed to get the project started
and keep running. A major priority during this stage is to ensure that the
project is carried out in the way and within the period that was planned.
Problems frequently occur when the economic and financial
environment at implementation differs from the situation expected
during appraisal.
Frequently, original proposals are modified, though usually only with
difficulty, because of the need to get agreement between the parties
involved. It is during implementation that many of the real problems of
projects are first identified. Because of this, the feedback effects on the
discovery and design of new projects and also the deficiencies in the
capabilities of the project actor can be revealed. Therefore, to allow the
management to become aware of the difficulties that might arise,
recording, monitoring, and progress reporting are important activities
during the implementation stage.

Some of the aspects of implementation that are of particular relevance to

project planning and analysis are the following:

 The first is that, the better and more realistic a project plan is,
the more likely it is that the plan can be carried out and the
expected benefits realized.
 The second is that, project implementation must be flexible.
Circumstances will change and project managers must be
able to respond intelligently to these changes. The common
ones are: technical changes (soils, water logging, and
nitrogen application); price changes; economic policy and
environmental changes; political changes, etc. and these all
will alter the ways in which projects should be implemented.
6. Evaluation:
The final phase in the project cycle is evaluation. Once a project has
been carried out, it is often useful, (though not always done), to look
back over what took place, to compare actual progress with the plans,
and to judge whether the decisions and actions taken were responsible
and useful. The extent to which the objectives of a project are being
realized provides the primary criterion for an evaluation. The analyst
looks systematically at the elements of success and failure in the
project experience to learn how better to plan for the future.

Evaluation is not limited only to completed projects. It is a most

important managerial tool in on-going projects and rather, formalized
evaluation may take place at several times in the life of a project.
Evaluation may be undertaken when the project is in trouble as the
first step in a re-planning effort. Careful evaluation should precede
any effort to plan for new projects and it is also needed to follow-up
the progress of projects. And, finally evaluation should be undertaken
when a project is terminated or is well into routine operation.

Different groups or units may do the evaluation of projects. Among

others,

 Project’s management unit often continuously evaluates its

experience as implementation proceeds.
 The sponsoring agency, perhaps, the operating ministry, the
planning agency, or an external assistance agency may
undertake evaluation.

In large and innovative projects, the project’s administrative structure

may provide a separate evaluation unit responsible for monitoring the
projects implementation and for bringing problems to the attention of the
projects’ management. Evaluation can help not only in the management
of the project after the initial phase, but also help in the planning of
future projects. Experience with one project can give rise to new ideas
for extension of the project, repetition, the need for “vertically”
associating projects that supply inputs to or process products from this
project, and other ideas which become the seeds to generate new project
proposals.

2.3. The UNIDO Project Cycle

The UNIDO has established a project cycle comprising the following

three distinct phases:

1. The pre-investment phase

2. The investment phase, and
3. The operating phase.
Each of these three phases is divided into stages, some of which
constitute important consultancy, engineering, and industrial
(manufacturing) activities. In this regard, increasing importance should
be attached to the pre-investment phase as a central point of attention,
because the success or failure of an industrial project ultimately depends
on the marketing, technical, financial and economic findings and their
interpretations, especially in the feasibility study. To reduce wastage of
scarce resources, a clear comprehension of the sequence of events is
required when developing an investment proposal from the conceptual
stage by way of active promotional efforts to the operational stage.

1. The pre-investment phase:

According to the UNIDO manual, the pre-investment phase comprises
several stages:

 Identification of investment opportunities (opportunity studies)

 Analysis of project alternatives and preliminary project selection as
well as project preparation (pre-feasibility and feasibility
studies), and
 Project appraisal and investment decision (specialized appraisal
reports)

Support or functional studies are also part of the project preparation

stage and are usually conducted separately, for later incorporation in a
pre-feasibility study or feasibility study as appropriate. Though it is
easier to grasp the scope of an opportunity study, it is not an easy task to
differentiate between a pre-feasibility and feasibility study in view of the
frequently inaccurate use of these terms.

The division of the pre-investment phase into stages avoids proceeding

directly from the project idea to the final feasibility study without
examining the project idea systematically or being able to present
alternative solutions. This cuts out many feasibility studies that would
have little chance of reaching the investment phase. Finally, it ensures
that the project appraisal to be made by national or international
financing institutions becomes an easier task when based on well-
prepared studies. All too often, project appraisal actually amounts to
project preparation, given the low quality of the feasibility study
submitted.

(A) Opportunity Studies

The identification of investment opportunities is the starting-point in a

series of investment-related activities, when potential investors (private
or public) are interested in obtaining information on newly identified
viable investment opportunities. The main instrument used to
quantify the parameters, information, and data required to develop
a project idea into a proposal is the opportunity study, which should
analyze:

 Natural resources
 The existing agricultural base (it may be the basis for agro-
industries)
 Future demand for consumer goods
 Imports substitution and export possibilities
 Environmental impacts (mandatory or non-revenue producing
projects)
 Expansions of existing capacity
 Manufacturing sectors (successful in other countries)
 Diversification
Opportunity studies are rather sketch in nature and rely more on
aggregate estimates than on detailed analysis. Opportunity studies could
be general or specific.

 General opportunity studies (“sector approach") could be area

studies designed to identify opportunities on a given area
(Administrative province, backward region); industry studies to
identify opportunities in delimited industrial branch; and resource-
based studies to reveal opportunities based on the utilization of
natural, agricultural, or industrial resources.
 Specific project opportunity studies (“enterprise approach”)
are seen in the form of products with potential for domestic
manufacture. A specific project opportunity study may be defined
as the transformation of a project idea into a broad investment
proposition.

A project opportunity study should not involve any substantial cost in its
preparation, as it is intended primarily to flashlight the principal
investment aspects of a possible industrial proposition. The purpose of
opportunity study is to arrive at a quick and inexpensive determination
of salient facts of an investment possibility.

(B) Pre-Feasibility Studies

The project idea must be elaborated in a more detailed study. However,

formulation of a feasibility study that enables a definite decision to be
made on the project is a costly and time-consuming task. Therefore,
before assigning larger funds for such a study, a further assessment of
the project idea might be made in a pre-feasibility study. This is to see if:

All possible project alternatives are examined,

The project concept justifies detail study,
All aspects are critical and need in-depth investigation, and
The project idea is viable and attractive or not.

A pre-feasibility study should be viewed as an intermediate stage

between a project opportunity study and a detailed feasibility study, the
difference being in the degree of detail of the information obtained and
the intensity with which project alternatives are discussed. The structure
of a pre-feasibility study should be the same as that of a detailed
feasibility study.

(C) Support/Functional/Studies

Support or functional studies cover aspects of an investment project, and

are required as prerequisites for, or in support of, pre-feasibility and
feasibility studies, particularly for large-scale investment proposals. This
may include:

Market studies of products

Raw material and factory supply studies
Laboratory and pilot plant tests
Location studies
Environmental impact assessment.
Economies of scale studies
Equipment selection studies

The contents of a support study vary, depending on the type and nature
of the projects. However, as it relates to a vital aspect of the project, the
conclusions could be clear enough to give directions to the subsequent
stage of project preparation. In most cases, a support study when
undertaken either before or together with a feasibility study, form an
integral part of the latter and lessen its burden and cost.

(D) Feasibility Studies

A feasibility study should provide all data necessary for an investment

decision. The commercial, technical, financial, economic, and
environment prerequisites for an investment project should, therefore, be
defined, refined and critically examined based on alternative solutions
already reviewed in the pre-feasibility study. The results of these efforts
is then a project whose background conditions and aims have been
clearly defined in terms of its control objective and possible marketing
strategies, the possible market shares that can be achieved, the
corresponding production capacities, the plant location, existing raw
materials, appropriate technology and mechanical equipment and, if
required, an environmental impact assessment.
The financial part of the study covers the scope of the investment,
including the net working capital, the production and marketing costs,
sales revenue, and the return on capital invested. Final estimates on
investment and production costs and its subsequent calculations of
financial and economic profitability are only meaningful if the scope of
the project is defined unequivocally (clearly) in order not to omit any
essential part and its related cost.

There is no uniform approach or pattern to cover all industrial projects

of whatever type, size or category. The emphasis on the components
varies from project to project. For most industrial projects, however,
there is a broad format of general application-bearing in mind that the
larger the project the more complex will be the information required.
Although feasibility studies are similar in content to pre-feasibility
studies, the industrial investment project must be worked out with the
greatest accuracy in an iterative optimization process, with feedback and
inter-linkages, including the identification of commercial, technical, and
entrepreneurial risks.

The sensitive parameters such as the size of the market, the production
program, or the mechanical equipment selected should be examined
more closely. A feasibility study should be carried out only if the
necessary financing facilities, as determined by the studies, can be
identified with a fair degree of accuracy. There would be little sense in a
feasibility study without the reliable assurance that, in the event of
positive study findings, funds could be made available. For that reason,
possible project financing must be considered as early as the feasibility
study stage because financing conditions have a direct effect on total
costs and, thus, on the financial feasibility of the project.

(E)Appraisal Report

When a feasibility study is completed, the various parties will carry out
their own appraisal of the investment project in accordance with their
individual objectives and evaluation of expected risks, costs, and gains.
Large investment and development finance institutions have a
formalized project appraisal procedure and usually prepare appraisal
reports. This is the reason why project appraisal should be considered an
independent stage of the pre-investment phase, marked by the final
investment and financing decisions taken by the project promoters.

The appraisal report will prove whether the pre-production expenditures

spent since the initiation of the project idea were well spent or not.
Project appraisal as carried out by financial institutions concentrates on
the health of the company to be financed, the returns to be obtained by
equity holders and the protection of its creditors. The techniques applied
to appraise projects in line with these criteria center around technical,
commercial, market, managerial, organizational, and financial and
possibly also economic aspects.

2. The Investment/implementation Phase

The investment or implementation phase of a project provides wide
scope for consultancy and engineering work, first and foremost in the
field of project management. The investment phase can be divided into
the following stages:

 Establishing the legal, financial, and organizational framework

 Tendering, evaluation of bids, and negotiations
 Technology acquisition and transfer
 Detailed engineering design and contract, including tendering,
evaluation of bids and negotiations
 Acquisition of land, construction work and installation
 Pre-production marketing, including the securing of supplies and
suppliers and setting up the administration of the firm.
 Recruitment and training of personnel
 Plant commissioning and start-up

Detailed engineering design comprises preparatory work for site

preparation, the final selection of construction planning and time
scheduling of factory construction, as well as the preparation of flow
charts, scale drawing, and a wide variety of layouts.

During the stage of tendering and evaluation of bids, it is especially

important to receive comprehensive tenders for goods and services for
the project from a sufficiently large number of national and international
suppliers of proven efficiency and with good delivery capacity.
Negotiations and contracting are concerned with the legal obligations
arising from the acquisition of technology the construction of buildings,
the purchase and installation of machinery and equipment and financing.
This stage covers the signing of contracts between the investor or
entrepreneur, on the one hand, and the financing institutions,
consultants, architects and suppliers of raw materials and required
inputs, on the other.

The construction stage involves the site preparation, construction of

buildings and other civil works, together with the erection and
installation of equipment in accordance with proper programming and
scheduling.

The personnel recruitment and training stage, which should proceed

simultaneously with the construction stage, may prove very crucial for
the expected growth of productivity and efficiency in plant operations.

Of particular relevance is the timely initiation of marketing

arrangements to prepare the market for the new products (pre-
production marketing) and secure critical supplies (supply marketing).

Plant commissioning and start up is usually a brief but technically

critical span in project implementation. It links the proceeding
construction phase and the following operational (production) phase.

In general, it is to be noted that in the pre-investment phase, the

quality and dependability of the project are more important than
the time factor, while in the investment phase, the time factor is
more critical in order to keep the project within the forecast made
in the feasibility study.

3. The Operating Phase

The problem of the operating phase needs to be considered from both a

short and a long-term view point.

 The short-term view relates to the initial after commencement of

production when a number of problems may arise concerning such
matters as the applications of production techniques, operation of
equipment, or inadequate labor productivity owing to lack of
qualified staff and labor. Most of these problems have their origin
in the implementation phase.
 The long-term view relates to chosen strategies and the associated
production and marketing costs as well as sales revenues. These
have a direct relationship with the projections made at the pre-
investment phase. If such strategies and projection prove faulty,
any remedial measures will not only be difficult but may prove
highly expensive.

The given outline of the investment and operating phases of an industrial

project is undoubtedly an oversimplification for many projects, and, in
fact, certain other aspects may be revealed that even greater short or long
term impacts.
There are various ways in which the project cycle may be viewed and
portrayed depending on the purpose, emphasis, and detail required to
illustrate. According to the Guidelines to project planning in Ethiopia
(1990) of Development Project Studies Authority (DEPSA), the
project cycle comprises three major phases,

1. Pre-investment
2. Investment, and
3. Operating phase.

Each of these three phases may be divided into stages. The Guidelines
has divided the Project cycle into six stages as follows:

1. Identification
2. Preparation
3. Appraisal/decision
4. Implementation
5. Operation
6. Ex-post evaluation.

The pre-investment phase consists of the first three stages, the

investment phase includes the fourth stage, and the operation phase
covers the last two stages. The project cycle means the various stages of
information gathering and decision-making, which take place between a
project’s inception and completion.
In reality, these are somewhat artificial, but do serve to emphasize the
need to think of project planning as a process of decision-making taking
place overtime. Broadly speaking, what is important about this process
is that it should begin with the identification of number of alternatives,
using existing information and gathering new data in such a way as to
limit alternatives under consideration to those few, which are more
promising.

Throughout the project cycle, the primary preoccupation of the analyst is

to consider alternatives, evaluate them, and to make decisions as to
which of them should be advanced to the next stage. In short, the project
planning process is essentially a task of eliminating less viable ideas and
alternatives; and in the continuum, planner naturally hopes that the best
alternative will emerge. In this process:

 The results and/or outputs of a given stage serve as the input or

part of the input of the next stage, if it is decided to proceed to the
next stage;
 The output or part of the output of one stage may be used as new
input (feedback) to reconsider or revise, where necessary, the
result of proceeding stages; and
 Most importantly, the results of the implementation, operation, and
ex-post evaluation stages of a project constitute valuable
experienced for the preparation of subsequent projects provided
these inputs are systematically documented and analyzed.