Alsedairy, F and Smith, S D (2016) Understanding the drivers and needs for mega infrastructure project development in Saudi Arabia. In: Chan, P W and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 32nd Annual ARCOM Conference, 5-7 September 2016, Manchester, UK.
Abstract
Mega infrastructure projects (MIP) are continuously complicated along their lifespan, they are highly diverse from one another, whether in their planning or execution stages, and require different approaches for their planning and decision-making. The Saudi infrastructure sector is booming and many projects can be classified as Megaprojects, that is they come with a minimum life span of fifty years and a starting price that exceeds GBP 1 Billion. The current investment for infrastructure in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia approximates to GBP 100 Billion per annum. This paper aims to better understand the leading goals, agendas and driving forces of MIP development in the specific context of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in order to influence a new decision process. Using a Multi Criteria Analysis framework, this study will attempt to provide a ranking of these goals, agendas and drivers utilizing knowledge extracted by questionnaire from a sample of the country’s leading decision makers. These decision makers come from a pool of the Saudi Council of Ministers, the Bureau of Experts, the 'Shura Council' that is, the Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia, and also from representatives of the Ministry of Planning. In addition to questionnaire data, the study will include a historical observation of Saudi’s five-year plan goals and objectives from 1970-2019. The results will facilitate a development of a new decision-making process for Infrastructure planning and procurement the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | decision analysis; economic development; mega infrastructure projects; project management; Saudi Arabia. |
| Index terms: | infrastructure planning, decision-making, questionnaire, infrastructure sector, infrastructure project, megaproject, project management, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, economic development, Saudi Arabia, lifespan, decision analysis, decision-making process, decision process |
| Subjects: | material degradation and durability, strategic project management, data collection methods, industry analysis, infrastructure and transport systems, decision analysis, Geography, project management theory and practice, economic development |
| Topics: | Risk Management, Sustainability, Engineering Principles, Construction Materials, Research Practice, Project Management, Geographical Context |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here