Vorhaben vs Projekt

I often see these two words “Vorhaben” and “Projekt” when I read German news. 

After checking the two words with various dictionaries, I have reach the conclusion, that the two words to some extent are very exchangeable, however, Vorhaben is mainly used when a project is already in motion (i.e. being planned or executed).

Is my understanding correct?

Guten Tag RexV,

Thank you for your question! 

You can think of “ein Vorhaben” as “a plan”, for example:

“Er setzte sein Vorhaben durch.” - “He followed through with his plan.”

There is also the verb “(etwas) vorhaben“ - “to plan (something)“, for example:

“Was hast du vor?” - “What is your plan?”

A “Projekt” can be described as a large-scaled “Vorhaben” - “project” which has already been planned and/or begun. Here are some examples:

“Der Bau des neuen Krankenhauses ist ein riesiges Projekt.” - "The construction of the new hospital is an enormous project.“

“Ich arbeite gerade mit einem Kollegen an einem Projekt zusammen.“ - ”A colleague and I are working on a project together.“

Viele Grüße,

Julia

Super - Danke!

There is also the German noun word “Plan” which seems very similar to “Vorhaben”.

Is it fair  to say that both words are interchangeable, except that “Plan” is more secure than “Vorhaben”?

In some situations, yes. When talking about everyday situations however, it is more common to use "Plan" as the noun “Vorhaben” sounds more formal. The verbs "vorhaben" and “planen” on the other hand are often interchangeable even though, like you said, “planen” has more certainty attached to it.

Grüße,

Julia