Inclusion of logistical regulations in land allocation agreements Investigation of a public landowner in a city development project

Abstract

The thesis aims to investigate how Älvstranden as a public landowner can affect developers and contractors to adhere logistical solutions by the means of land allocation agreements. Research questions encompass which areas of responsibility Älvstranden has as a public landowner, how land allocation agreements can be utilized for conveying logistical regulations and how stakeholders perceive these regulations. The investigation has been conducted in an abductive manner and has constituted of a literature study, including topics of construction logistics, land allocation agreements and public private partnerships. Furthermore, 13 interviews have been conducted with stakeholders involved within project Masthuggskajen, Uppsala Bygglogistikcenter, a third-party logistics provider, logistics consultants and a logistics researcher.

The study shows that common and efficient solutions to address the implications of construction transports are construction logistics centres (CLC). Furthermore, land allocation agreements and organisational relationships within public-private partnerships influence projects proceedings to a great extent. For this reason, land allocation agreements must be balanced in terms of alignment of incentives, allocation of support, costs and benefits, and conveyed solutions must contain attributes of feasibility. If not, there is a risk of distrust and a favour of opportunistic behaviour, thus jeopardizing project success. Stakeholders in the form of developers, contractors and third-part logistics service providers have diverse opinionsregarding whether the logistical element should be included within land allocation agreements or not, to which extent, and how it should be formulated. However, the majority express no aversion of inclusion if it brings economic incentives.

This master thesis provides contributions for Älvstranden by suggesting that they should implement logistics in land allocation agreements through stipulating regulations in a comprehensive manner. This should be done by internally employ logistic competence. Finally, the positive results from Uppsala Bygglogistikcenter indicate that the utilization of a CLC would be a great option within vision Älvstaden.