< Previous| 5 THINGS | 10 | 5 THINGS | 101000000010 With the construction industry working at full throttle in the kingdom, the infrastructure, real estate, and tourism sectors are bustling with activity. Construction Week Saudi runs down ve major things you should know about Saudi Arabia’s construction industry, from million-dollar contract awards and deals to megaproject launches and more. NWC rolls out 1,429 projects for a tender worth more than $28.7bn The announcement comes as part of NWC’s plans for developing water and environmental infrastructure, extending water services to all citizens and residents across the kingdom. Al-Bawani signs a series of economic agreements with Greece’s Mytilineos Group The agreement is part of Al-Bawani’s strategy to invest in energy fields such as transportation, renewable energy, waste-to-energy, mining projects, decarbonisation, utilities and more.| 5 THINGS | 11 || 5 THINGS | 1111111111111 Doosan Enerbility wins a $640mn EPC contract for Saudi water project The South Korean company with Shuaibah Three Water Desalination Company will build a desalination plant capable of producing 600,000m3 of water per day as well as a 60MW solar power plant. Edama Organic Solutions opens KSA’s first recycling facility of its kind The facility, developed in collaboration with KAUST Facility Management, features technology that provides waste processing and desert agriculture solutions and innovations supporting Vision 2030 sustainability goals. JCDC signs desalination technology MoU with Waterise and Aljan & Bros The new technology will help Jeddah Central Development Company achieve its sustainable development objectives to maintain and enhance its natural environment.| A DAY IN THE LIFE | 12 A DAY IN THE LIFE OF GORDON LINDSAY NEOM PROGRAMME DIRECTOR, AECOM 6:45am: As the leader of a NEOM project for AECOM in Saudi Arabia, I live on site close to the NEOM office, meaning I don’t have to get up too early. 7:15am: Whenever possible, I have breakfast in the dining hall and start the day with a healthy meal of poached eggs and maybe some salmon. I enjoy eating in the dining hall with my team; there’s a constant stream of people to catch up with. 8:00am: The programme I run is very broad, highly technical, and fast paced. My week is structured around a drumbeat of meetings with the client, my team and the wider AECOM business. I usually spend early morning in one-on- one sessions with my leadership team, discussing the status of the packages under their responsibility. I believe it’s important to spend quality time with each of my reports to ensure they are appropriately supported. 10:00am: Every morning, we have a team meeting focussed on a specific topic – often related to our delivery program. We have a challenging schedule that requires constant focus and prioritisation to support our client NEOM. 12:00pm: Lunchtime is spent in the dining hall. I typically have lunch with staff from the other companies we work alongside. I enjoy engaging with them on non-work subjects and we often discuss our weekend activities. Snorkelling in the Red Sea is popular. I recently swam alongside a turtle, which was a highlight. 1:00pm: The afternoon is often spent in client meetings reviewing progress. Our programme is technically very complex, involving over 20 specialist engineering disciplines and dozens of work packages. It requires coordination. 5:00pm: Late in the day I have calls with the wider AECOM business to ensure the project has the support it needs. We have over 1,000 people working from across the globe on this project, so finding a time that suits everyone for a call can be a challenge. 6:30pm: My working day usually finishes with a hard stop as I head back to get changed for bootcamp. 7:00pm: I love group training and enjoy this hour exercising followed by yoga. Living and working at NEOM has made me fitter, faster, and stronger! 8:00pm: The day usually ends with a small meal in my room and phone calls to family and friends. If there are any emerging programme issues, I may need to work through this time, but otherwise it’s time for bed between 10pm and 11pm.Organized with Event Partner Saudi Contractors Authority, event theme is Connecting Communities Through Smart Infrastructure and includes a 2-day conference plus workshop on the latest developments, strategies, and requirements to meet targets. This timely industry driven event will include presentations and panel sessions by government and private sector infrastructure development and management, plus, international organizations that are leaders in smart sustainable infrastructure. It will provide the ideal forum to discuss key issues for design, development, and management of major infrastructure projects across the Kingdom. Event website with further details is: www.itp.events/KSAInfrastructure NETWORK AND DO BUSINESS! Adjacent to the strategic level conference is the expo area where event sponsors and exhibitors will showcase the latest in infrastructure development and full life-cycle asset management products and services to delegates during the conference breaks. It provides the perfect one-stop-shop to network with the industry and increase business potential! For further details including event sponsorship or exhibitor opportunities call: Anthony Sprange, Director of Conferences at ITP Media Group +971 (0)58 598 9062 or email: anthony.sprange@itp.com Scan the QR code to learn more about the event and register 29 & 30 NOVEMBER 2022, RIYADH Event focuses on development of critical and smart infrastructure to enable realization of targets and programs as part of Saudi Vision 2030 ORGANIZED BYPOWERED BYMEDIA PARTNER CONNECTING COMMUNITIES THROUGH SMART INFRASTRUCTURE EVENT PARTNER:| ANALYSIS | 14 | ANALYSIS | RESHAPING PROJECT CULTURE Construction Week Saudi sat down with Dr Saadi Adra to dissect the important role of project management in achieving the kingdom’s long term goals 14| FACE TO FACE | 15 How far has KSA construction reached in the implementation of project management? When we talk about project management, we mean driving discipline. Project managers execute, but there are people who develop a strategy and a vision, and those who handle planning, portfolio management, and management of benefits. All of these together coupled with the right selection of programmes and projects will lead to success. As the saying goes, it takes two to tango, portfolio management is about doing the right things while project management is about doing things right. What are some of the factors that project managers should look at when strategising? Should there be a benchmark for strategies? All strategies have a north pole, which is the vision. Once the strategy is set in place with KPIs, in all cases, you might discover that the grounds might be P roject management has always been an integral part of construction, with project managers playing a critical role in ensuring that processes and responsibilities are properly accounted for. Though what appears to be even more crucial is the presence of project culture, in other words, the aspect that shapes an organisation’s decision patterns, guiding their actions and driving the individual behavior of all members. A strong organisational culture drives the growth of a project. It is its personality, comprised of assumptions, beliefs, norms, and tangible signs. Understanding the culture of an organisation is critical to running successful projects where the vision, mission, and strategy are set in stone. During the Global Project Management Forum that took place in Riyadh this year, Construction Week Saudi shared an insightful conversation with Dr Saadi Adra, managing partner at ADVISORS KSA about the emerging role of excellent project management driven by an equally excellent project culture to achieve the kingdom’s elaborate Vision 2030 goals. Developed by the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 is built around three primary themes: a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation, each of which Dr Adra has explained to have its own set of visions driven by a steady project culture. Would you say culture defines and governs a project? If you are not a challenging person, you would say that culture eats strategy for breakfast. But we’ve seen the culture change. In Saudi Arabia, we’ve seen it as a real case study. There was a specific culture, and Vision 2030 was able to change and reshape the culture. If you have the right vision and a flexible strategy that adapts according to the situation, then you will be able to change the culture. However, this will take perseverance, time, and effort. So, to answer that question: no, culture does not define a project. A strong organisational culture drives the growth of a project. Dr Saadi Adra. [Image: Sourced] different. In one area, the maturity of the organisation attempting to transform is higher than another organisation. Hence, when we hit the ground in terms of implementation, we will have to adjust our plans in a pragmatic and practical manner. This is called agility. Without this, strategies that are rigid do not succeed. Secondly, we’ve all been hit by the international supply chain issues due to the pandemic, which changed the strategies set by many companies. But the one thing that didn’t change is the vision, which is why, now, we are looking into combined initiatives that allow people to stop, measure, and look at the holistic picture that will enhance their strategies. In the end, it is not important how you start, but how you walk the talk. What excites you the most about how Saudi Arabia is implementing the Vision 2030 goals? I’m somebody who loves frameworks, and I believe Saudi Arabia gave us new knowledge. I believe the people who will come to do research are practitioners who, after this point, will do things in a different manner. Saudi Arabia did the hard thing of starting something very ambitious. But the country showed its ability to adjust until it succeeds. Now, when another country or organisation wishes to do the same, they already have best practices to learn from, sparing them from the time and effort. This is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s contribution to knowledge management and knowledge transfer on a global scale. | COMMENT | 16 How Saudi Arabia has been identifying the use of public- private partnerships (PPP) as a method to deliver the elements of the nation’s ambitious Vision 2030 There have been a number of times in my 30-year career that I have uttered the words, “it is an exciting time to be a public-private partnership (PPP) professional”. However, it is with great joy that I have uttered those words more recently in relation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Vision 2030 states that the future of the kingdom is one of “huge promise and great potential”, and I couldn’t agree more. The scale of opportunity is massive, and Vision 2030 rightly identifies the use of PPP as a method to deliver the elements of the vision. Over the years, I have observed that in order to implement a successful PPP Programme you need a number of key features including: a regulatory framework; a stable economy; an attractive business environment, particularly for foreign investment; a pipeline of opportunities; and a track record of delivery. Saudi has all of this and then some. Significance of documentation From a regulatory framework perspective, last year the kingdom issued the PSP Law (governing both PPPs and privatisations) and the framework was completed earlier this year when the Implementing Regulations to the PSP Law were published. These two documents, together with a number of other publications, provide the whole structure needed for the delivery of PPP projects. Whilst not strictly necessary, as PPP projects had been successfully delivered before the PSP Law, these documents are an important milestone for PPPs as they give confidence to private sector investors about the delivery of PPP projects and the structure that will be followed. Alternative delivery methods The Law and Implementing Regulations also opened the door to alternative methods of delivery such as direct award and unsolicited proposals. Given the scale of opportunity within the kingdom, these alternatives will accelerate the delivery of the national vision, and I hope they become a regular feature of the market going forward, especially as other jurisdictions have these alternatives – however they are rarely used. The stability of the economy speaks for itself! | COMMENT | 16| COMMENT | 17 In relation to the business environment, the changes made by the kingdom in this space have been both breath taking and transformational and an amazing example of what happens when the Saudis set their mind to do something. You don’t have to take my word for it – in 2019 when the World Bank issued their Ease of Doing Business Index, Saudi Arabia jumped an amazing 30 places from its ranking in 2018 and earned itself the top spot in the top 10 global business climate improvers because of its “record number of business reforms” in just one year. There were eight such reforms with the top three being ease of starting a business, protection for minority investors and obtaining construction permits. All relevant and needed for delivering PPP projects. An amazing external validation for Saudi of the great strides being taken all the time to create the right environment to deliver their vision. Pipeline of PPP projects A pipeline of projects is vital to a PPP market. This gives potential investors confidence as to the scale of opportunity in a particular jurisdiction and allows them to make the necessary investments in the market for example in people, premises, licences so that they are ready to respond to the opportunities. The pipeline also allows them to spread their investments – it is an expensive business bidding for PPP projects and a pipeline improves the strike rate to spread that expense. Also relevant is the type of opportunities, and we are seeing the water and power projects we would expect for this region but what is super exciting is the emergence of more social infrastructure and transport related projects such as the two waves of the Schools Projects, Al Ansar Hospital, and the Mawani Port Projects. This is opening out the types of investors and developers interested in bidding and delivering PPP projects in Saudi - there is room for everyone in this market particularly given the scale of the opportunities. Furthermore, it has the added benefit of increasing the competitive spirit and quality of assets which in turn will benefit the people of the kingdom. A promising track record The final piece for a successful PPP programme is track record of delivery. From my perspective, a great example of the promise of PPP projects in KSA was the incredibly successful Madinah Airport PPP Project back in 2011. Since then, there have been a number of projects, particularly in the water and power space, which have all achieved financial close and are either in development or in some cases are operational. Again, this gives confidence to the private sector that PPP projects can be delivered and importantly can be banked. All in all, a recipe for success; and I really look forward to seeing this market develop even more during the remainder of the term of Vision 2030 and beyond. Catherine Workman is the partner & head of the Middle East for Pinsent Masons in association with Alsabhan & Alajaji. Alsabhan & Alajaji is Pinsent Masons’ associate law firm in Riyadh. Catherine Workman, partner & head of Middle East, Pinsent Masons. In addition to utility projects, PPPs are also emerging in social infrastructure projects. [Image: Shutterstock] 17 | COMMENT |Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 is set to be one of the country’s biggest initiatives. It is built on three pillars: a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation, and acts as an outline to help the country plan for the future to diversify its economy. Diversifying its economy is not the nation’s only goal. At the heart of Vision 2030 is sustainability, and the kingdom is now ushering in a new era as it aims to reach net zero by 2060. This will help the nation accelerate the energy transition, achieve sustainability goals, and drive a new wave of investment. Building a sustainable future is no easy feat. Buildings, transportation, energy systems, and more must all be built with sustainability at the forefront of the planning. This is where project and programme management come in as key components; to achieve a sustainable future, an efficient strategy is needed for implementing environmental and energy infrastructure. The kingdom’s sustainable future largely depends on its infrastructure, which is currently being implemented through projects like the Saudi Green Initiative and NEOM, which when completed will significantly improve the country’s outlook. At every step of the way, project management plays a key role whether it is building a sustainable future or Saudi Arabia reaching its Vision 2030 goals. The first pillar which emphasises building a vibrant society includes improving the quality of life for Saudi citizens. One of the first necessities is modern infrastructure combined with better transportation. In line with Saudi Vision 2030, almost $1tn worth of development projects have commenced or been announced according to research conducted by Knight Frank. There are already new developments that are currently undergoing construction in Saudi Arabia, such as NEOM, Al Ula, AMAALA, Jeddah Economic City, The Red Sea Project, Masar-Makkah, King Abdullah Economic City, Diriyah Gate, and Al Faisaliah Economic City. While developing these major projects does seem exciting, they come with their own challenges and opportunities. The list of ground-breaking initiatives is growing in the kingdom with an enormous impact on its society. One of the opportunities that Vision 2030 has created is more jobs. The country is shifting its focus from being solely an oil-based economy to investing in several mega and gigaprojects. The construction sector alone is creating opportunities that push the country beyond its dependency on oil. In addition to these projects, Saudi Arabia THE SUCCESS OF VISION 2030 RELIES ON PROJECT MANAGEMENT Project management plays a key role in Saudi Arabia’s construction industry, whether it is building a sustainable future or reaching the nation’s Vision 2030 goals Grace Najjar, managing director, PMI MENA. | PROJECT MANAGEMENT | 18is also expanding its tourism and entertainment industries. By creating opportunities and attracting investors, the country aims to reach its goal to establish a thriving economy that goes beyond its reliance on oil. The last pillar – investing in the healthcare and education sectors – is driving this ambitious nation to create a society in which its citizens have the best quality of life. According to a report by Frost & Sullivan and Mashreq Bank, the kingdom industrial sector, and manufacturing. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is embarking on an ambitious journey as it aims to achieve the goals of Vision 2030. This is an excellent example of strong leadership and what is needed from a government in terms of the foresight and planning needed to take on a project of this scale. Grace Najjar serves as the managing director of PMI’s Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region. plans to invest $66bn in healthcare infrastructure, scaling private sector participation from 40% to 65%. Digital upgrades are being implemented in the energy sector. In addition to schools and hospitals being built, industrial hubs are also being developed throughout the kingdom. There are additional great investment opportunities in real estate, hospitality, sustainable energy, tourism, and smart cities. Other areas attracting investment include chemicals, mining, metals, information technology, the [Image: Shutterstock] | PROJECT MANAGEMENT | 19Next >