  This report was commissioned by the Commission of Inquiry Respecting the
Muskrat Falls Project to provide the national and international context in
which the Muskrat Falls Project took place. The Commission asked for the report
to cover three specific topics of questions: (1) What is the national and
international context of the Muskrat Falls Project with regards to cost overrun
and schedule overrun? (What are the typical cost and schedule overruns of
hydro-electric dam projects? How do hydro-electric dams compare to other
capital investment projects? How do Canadian projects compare to other
countries?), (2) What are the causes and root causes of cost and schedule
overruns? (3) What are recommendations, based on international experience and
research into capital investment projects, to prevent cost and schedule
overruns in hydro-electric dam projects and other capital investment projects?
  Keywords: Hydroelectric Dams, Megaprojects, Cost Overrun, Schedule Overrun,
Optimism Bias, Strategic Misrepresentation, Infrastructure, Capital Investment
Projects, Canada, Muskrat Falls
