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Transportation infrastructure
development in the UAE
Stakeholder perspectives on
management practice

492

Moza T. Al Nahyan and Amrik S. Sohal

Department of Management, Monash University, Caulfield East, Australia

Brian N. Fildes
Accident Research Centre, Monash University, Clayton, Australia, and

Yaser E. Hawas
Faculty of Engineering, UAE University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the major management issues that impact on
mega transportation infrastructure projects in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and identify the
factors that cause unsuccessful project completions. The paper further seeks to identify the changes
that can be made to improve project success.
Design/methodology/approach This is a qualitative study that involved face-to-face interviews
with 20 key experienced transportation construction stakeholders who had been involved in a number
of different projects in the UAE. This was followed by a focus group discussion involving ten key
stakeholders who had been involved in the construction of a mega project the Dubai Fujairah
Highway. Analysis of the interview data was conducted using NVivo.
Findings The findings highlight the complexity involved in managing mega transportation
infrastructure projects in the UAE. Multiple stakeholders (government agencies, sponsors/clients,
management firms, consultants and contractors) influence the various stages of projects. The need for
effective communication, coordination, knowledge sharing and decision making amongst the
stakeholders, especially during the planning and design stages, is highlighted as critical.
Research limitations/implications The main limitation is the small numbers interviewed for
each stakeholder group. Nevertheless, the sample of interviews provides a good representation of the
transport infrastructure construction industry in the UAE.
Practical implications Three major practical implications relate to: improving communication and
coordination amongst government departments and key stakeholders to streamline effective knowledge
sharing and decision making, leading to successful project outcomes; improving the skills and
competencies of professional staff at all levels and subsequently delegating authority to lower levels; and
the adoption of global international standards to improve planning, design and construction activities.
Originality/value The paper describes the first study of its kind conducted in the UAE that
provides valuable insights with respect to transportation infrastructure project management.
Keywords United Arab Emirates, Construction management, Project management,
Construction engineering works, Roads, Transportation infrastructure construction, Stakeholders
Paper type Research paper
Construction Innovation
Vol. 12 No. 4, 2012
pp. 492-514
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1471-4175
DOI 10.1108/14714171211272234

The authors are grateful to the interviewees taking part in Phase I and Phase II of the study
reported. They also thank the three referees who provided many valuable comments that helped
in improving this paper.

Introduction
Large scale infrastructure projects with increasing complexity are being constructed
in many countries around the world and at an increasing rate, in a number of developing
countries. In this respect, project management is also becoming increasing complex not
only because the projects are becoming larger (referred to as mega projects when
investments amount to $1 billion or more), but also because of the large number of
stakeholders involved. Since mega projects can take many years to complete, responding
to the changing interests and demands of stakeholders over the life of a project can make
project management a challenging task (Friedman and Miles, 2002). This paper
examines a number of transportation infrastructure project management issues in the
context of a rapidly developing country, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The UAE is a federation of seven emirates (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah,
Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah) that has developed rapidly
over the past three decades, in terms of economic, business and social activities. Along
with this, there has been massive activity in the construction industry, especially in
developing the necessary transportation infrastructure (seaports, airports,
highways and light rail). Many of these projects have met with serious challenges
and problems (Ahmed, 2007; Ditcham, 2006, 2007; Kazimi, 2005; Zaneldin, 2005).
Delays were relatively common in many UAE construction projects, which locals noted
anecdotally to include a lack of coordination, slow decision-making, design errors,
utility relocation, sudden changes in governmental requirements, poor quality, and a
lack of coherence and compatibility between key stakeholders. In addition, no
rigorous scientific studies of UAE projects were found that addressed these issues,
suggesting that additional research was clearly warranted for greater knowledge and
intervention.
The aim of this paper is to identify the major management issues that affect mega
transport infrastructure projects (TIPs) in the UAE, to identify the factors that cause
unsuccessful project completions and to identify what changes can be made to
improve project success. The conceptual model and the details of the research
questions are presented in subsequent parts of the paper.
The remainder of this paper is structured as follows. Next, relevant review of the
literature is presented which identifies the four management aspects important for
project management and introduces stakeholder theory. This is followed by an
overview of the research project and the methodology used for data collection and
analysis. The results are then presented followed by the discussion and conclusions.
Review of the literature
Westney (2000) defined project management as the application of knowledge, skills, tools,
and techniques to project activities in order to meet or exceed stockholders need and
expectations from the project. It has evolved from a management philosophy restricted to
a few functional areas and regarded as something nice to have, to now an enterprise
project management system affecting every functional unit (Kerzner, 2006). The project
management maturity model which comprises of six major stages (namely planning,
design, scoping, tendering, scheduling and ending with implementation which also
includes benchmarking and continuous improvement) noted the degree of interaction
between strategic management and planning and successful implementation of project
(Gabor, 1990).

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Previous research on construction project management

The literature on management of construction projects is diverse, tackling several
issues including the management of stakeholders relationships and expectations
(Macharis, 2005; Newcombe, 2003; Elias et al., 2000, 2002, 2004), the strategic design
and implementation of projects (project management) (Cleland, 1995), contract
management and theory of organisations (Turner and Simister, 2001), measures of
success related to the project type (Ernzen et al., 2004), and the root causes and effects
of delay in infrastructure projects (Ellis and Thomas, 2003).
Other important aspects include methods to achieve accurate and effective project
scheduling (Mattila et al., 2003), the development of cost estimation tools (Kyte et al.,
2004), innovative project planning (Hegazy, 2004), best practices (Kingsley et al., 2004),
and the role of IT and technologies for project management (Nono and Tarnoff, 2004).
The project stakeholders (the main participants of the construction project) have been
traditionally reported in the literature as the client, the architect and the contractor
(Macharis, 2005; Newcombe, 2003; Elias et al., 2000, 2002, 2004). The interactions and
interrelationships between these participants largely determined the overall
performance of a construction project. The performance of these participants is also
interdependent. Hence, in order to perform effectively, a reciprocal requirement exists,
whereby each participant requires the other participants to perform their duties
effectively and in harmony with each other. The performance of individual participants
remains important because overall project performance is a function of the performance
of each participant. The degree of effective coordination and communication between
stakeholders has been recognised as a key issue in successful transportation
infrastructure projects in particular (Timmermans and Beroggi, 2000; Zwikael et al.,
2005; Zou et al., 2007). A conceptual model of a management structure for a successful
construction project is shown in Figure 1.

PLANNING

LOW

MEDIUM

HIGH
COST OVERRUN

SCOPING
DESIGN

COORDINATION
COMMUNICATIONS

SCHEDULING

KNOWLEDGE SHARING

TIME OVERRUN
TECHNICAL
PERFORMANCE

DECISION MAKING
TENDERING
CONSTRUCTION

Figure 1.
Conceptual model for the
management of a
transportation
construction project

STAKEHOLDER
SATISFACTION
LEVEL III: MANAGEMENT ISSUES

LEVEL II: STAKEHOLDER IMPORTANCE

LEVEL I: CONSTRUCTION STAGES

PROJECT
SUCCESS
INDICATORS

Key management aspects

The literature review identified four key management aspects important in
successful project management, namely communication, coordination,
knowledge-sharing, and decision-making. Effective communication practices need to
ensure that all major players are kept fully informed of any problems or difficulties and
have procedures for intervening and managing these immediately should they occur
and not allow them to disrupt the project (Kerzner, 2006). Zwikael et al. (2005)
examined project management practices and concluded that various types of
management styles, scope and time management can impact on the technical
performance of projects; while communication and cost management will affect the
overall success of a project.
Soetanto and Proverbs (2002) suggested the need for communication effectiveness
models to predict satisfaction performance by contractors and clients at the earliest
possible stage in the project life cycle. To minimise defective designs, and the
subsequent overrun of cost and schedules, Zou et al. (2007) argued that the design team
must establish an efficient communication scheme among key stakeholders. Stewart
(2007) stressed that implementation is essential of innovative information and
communication technologies for the long-term survival of construction firms. The lack
of communication among parties was reported among the ten most important causes of
project delay by Sambasivan and Soon (2007).
Coordination is also recognised as a key issue in successful transportation
infrastructure projects. Timmermans and Beroggi (2000) stressed the importance of
effective coordination between organisations that have diverse objectives. The concept
of strong international coordination for successful transportation infrastructure
projects was addressed by Short and Kopp (2005) while Chen and Partington (2006)
emphasised the necessity for project managers to closely coordinate their activities on
site. Lack of coordination among project participants was also identified as a key risk
factor in Australian projects (Zou et al., 2007).
Jackson and Klobas (2007) and Kovacs and Paganelli (2003) further argued that
data and knowledge interchange is urgently needed to improve efficiency and
standardise operations of complex distributed organisations. The necessity of a
feed-back loop to gain insights on decision-making in various projects is emphasised
by Short and Kopp (2005), suggesting that in order to improve planning processes
and decision-making, it is necessary to look back at the decisions taken and extract and
share valuable knowledge and lessons learned from both good and bad decisions in
the past.
Finally, sound decision-making has been shown to be significantly tied to successful
project management and project completion. Decentralised communication channels
are known to facilitate better information flow and decision-making when problems
arise. Clients who have decentralised communication channels ease communication
and facilitate faster and more effective decisions (Soetanto and Proverbs, 2002).
In assessing project performance measures, project managers need to understand what
factors in a construction project result in time overrun or cost overrun. Thus, when
these factors become clear, management can proactively take steps to avoid or address
such situations. Sambasivan and Soon (2007) identified slow decision-making by
clients as a principle factor in time and cost overrun.

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Stakeholder theory
Freeman (1984) described stakeholder theory as:
.
the understanding of stakeholders relationships;
.
the processes for dealing with these stakeholders; and
.
the transactions required to achieve the project deliverables with satisfactory
stakeholders.
A detailed description of stakeholder theory was provided by Elias et al. (2000). In
transport policy, Banville et al. (1998) also defined stakeholders as those with a vested
interest in a project by influencing or being affected by it, and introduced a framework
for the introduction of the concept of stakeholders for application in evaluating
transport related strategic decisions.
Construction management particularly focuses on planning the complex array of
activities required to deliver a successful construction project, such as a road or a
building (Morris, 1997). Vinten (2000) argued that a crucial skill for managers of
construction projects is being able to manage construction stakeholders expectations
where failures have resulted in withdrawal of project funds (Bourne and Walker, 2005;
Lim and Lee, 2005). Successful completion of construction projects is dependent on
meeting the expectation of stakeholders (Cleland, 1995). In construction projects, the
interests of stakeholders can vary over the life of a project (Friedman and Miles, 2002),
and the reasons for these changes include learning, changing values, and specific
experiences (Elias et al., 2004). Zwikael et al. (2005) suggested the use of cost and
schedule overrun, technical performance and stakeholder satisfaction as the primary
performance indicators of projects.
Fassin (2008) discussed the notion of heterogeneity within stakeholders and
pressure groups. Fassin (2008) noted that members within a category are not all
homogeneous, often quite the contrary, and to date, stakeholder theory has largely
ignored intra-stakeholder heterogeneity. Stakeholder groups and subgroups may also
have multiple interests and multiple roles. They are all bundled in one group as they
have common stake, but they do not necessarily share a common objective.
The research reported in this paper is part of a multi-phased study examining
transportation infrastructure projects in the UAE. Specifically, the study examined the
critical management processes to ensure a successful transportation construction
project. The discussion presented above highlights that issues relating to
communication, co-ordination, knowledge-sharing, and decision-making are not
considered as important factors among key stakeholders for a projects success. The
degree to which these factors receive due consideration in UAE mega transportation
construction projects is unknown and this study is designed to address this important
gap in the literature. The results of the study reported in this paper provides important
insights that will benefit the multiple stakeholders involved and the overall outcomes
relating to mega transportation projects in the UAE.
Research methodology
In adopting the research methodology for this study, it was important to adopt
scientific well-known and proven research methodologies. Quantitative and
qualitative approaches represent two legitimate ways to investigate research problems.
Qualitative approaches are typically used for exploratory purposes, whilst quantitative

approaches are used to test hypotheses, where content validity, reliability and precise
methods of measurement are considered more important. Given the nature of the research
questions, a qualitative approach was selected for this investigation. Qualitative research
is a method of inquiry used in many different academic and applied disciplines.
Researchers using qualitative methods gather an in-depth understanding of natural and
human behaviour and the reasons that govern such phenomena. Techniques commonly
used include interviews (structured or unstructured), focus group discussions, literature
and material reviews and observation techniques.
A qualitative research approach was considered appropriate and legitimate for this
study. According to Manson (2005), qualitative research is characteristically
exploratory, fluid and flexible, data-driven and context-sensitive and aims to produce
rounded and contextual understandings on the basis of rich nuanced and detailed data
(p. 3). It has the advantage of being easily implemented and comprehended by decision
makers and is amenable to various project sizes and management forms. The unit of
analysis in this study is the stakeholders involved in transportation construction
projects completed in the UAE. As previously mentioned in the introduction to this
paper, many projects experienced delays (e.g. lack of coordination amongst various
stakeholders involved, slow decision-making, design errors, utility relocation, sudden
changes in governmental requirements, poor quality, and a lack of coherence and
compatibility between key stakeholders). All of these issues had been highlighted in the
local media (Ahmed, 2007; Ditcham, 2006, 2007; Kazimi, 2005; Zaneldin, 2005), but
needed to be confirmed and then thoroughly examined. Preliminary discussions with
officials in the UAE Ministry of Public Works provided confirmation that these issues
did indeed exist. The ministry was not able to provide sufficiently detailed answers to the
questions that were being raised by the research team and hence this study was initiated.
Broadly, the research questions (see specific questions below) focused on
identifying the major management issues that affect transportation infrastructure
projects, the factors that cause unsuccessful completion of projects and the changes
that can be made to improve project success. Interviews were conducted with key
stakeholders involved in these projects, including one specific mega project namely the
Dubai-Fujairah highway completed recently.
A conceptual model of a management structure for a successful transportation
construction project is shown in Figure 1, followed by a series of six research questions.
Research questions
A number of research questions were outlined from the literature review for this
project. Of particular interest for this paper were the following six questions:
RQ1. What influence do the key stakeholders have on transportation infrastructure
projects?
The importance of stakeholders was discussed in the literature to this paper. Cleland
(1995) argued that successful completion of construction projects is dependent on
meeting the expectation of stakeholders. Friedman and Miles (2002) indicated that the
interests of stakeholders can vary over the life of a project. Hence, the aim of this
question was to identify who the important stakeholders are and their influence on the
project:
RQ2. What are the most critical stages in these projects?

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Each stage of a construction project involves unique activities. Previous research

examined specific stages of a project. For example, planning by Hegazy (2004) and
scheduling by Mattila et al. (2003). This question aimed at identifying the project
stages considered critical by each stakeholder group as well as identifying the most
critical stages overall:
RQ3. How is project success and failure defined and measured?
Although the literature refers to various measures of success (see for example
Zwikael et al. (2005) who suggested the use of cost and schedule overrun, technical
performance of the project and stakeholder satisfaction as the primary performance
indicators). This study was interested in identifying the success and failure measures
unique to the UAE:
RQ4. What are the factors behind unsuccessful projects?
The literature reviewed referred to a number of factors causing unsuccessful projects,
especially issues relating to interactions and interrelationships between key
stakeholders. Further, Zwikael et al. (2005) highlighted the impact of various types
of management styles, scope and time management on projects. The aim of this
question was to identify the unique factors relevant to the UAE:
RQ5. How does management practice influence project success?
Issues relating to communication, co-ordination, decision-making and knowledge-sharing
were raised by many authors, as discussed in the literature. For example, effective
coordination and communication between stakeholders was recognised as a key issue in
successful transportation infrastructure projects by Timmermans and Beroggi (2000),
Zwikael et al. (2005) and Zou et al. (2007), knowledge-sharing has been referred to by
Jackson and Klobas (2007), Kovacs and Paganelli (2003), Short and Kopp (2005), Soetanto
and Proverbs (2002) and Sambasivan and Soon (2007) highlighted the importance of
decision-making:
RQ6. What are the critical management issues for a successful project?
The discussion presented earlier highlights the need to improve transportation
construction project success. Overall, managing construction stakeholders
expectations has been identified as crucial by Vinten (2000) and Cleland (1995).
Hence, identifying and addressing the critical management issues that influence
stakeholders is important in this study.
The two phases of the research addressing the above questions are described below.
Phase I research interviews
The first phase of the project was completed in 2010 and involved conducting an
omnibus interview with 20 key stakeholders engaged in various transportation
infrastructure projects and identified in consultation with the Ministry of Public Works.
The five key stakeholder groups comprised sponsors and/or clients, government
agencies, management firms, consultants, and contractors (see Table I for profile of
the interviewees). A snowballing approach was adopted in this research to ensure the
randomness in recruiting interview participants. Individuals who agreed to participate
in the study were initially contacted by telephone and were briefed on the

Organisation
Sponsors/clients

Positions

Exec. mgr to
technical advisor
Government agents Exec. director,
strategy and policy
Management firms Senior and project
mgrs
Consultants
Vice president to
senior consultant
Contractors
Manager and project
director

Number
interviewed

Average years
experience
Fields of specialisation

16

20

15

20

Mgmt, planning and

design
Business development
and construction
Road and engineering
construction
Management and road
construction
Management,
construction and quality

research project. An interview was then set up at a specific time and place. All
interviewees held senior positions within their organisations and played a significant
role in transportation infrastructure projects. Most had been involved in mega/fast-track
projects identified by the Ministry of Public Works.
The interview questionnaire comprised of ten parts with a total of 58 specific
questions, intended to explore the interviewees opinion on a range of key research
questions. A typical interview lasted for approximately 90 minutes which was
sufficient to achieve the targeted depth to each of the detailed research questions.
Phase II research case study (focus group)
The second phase of the research involved a detailed study of a suitable mega
transportation infrastructure project in the UAE. According to Davies et al. (2009), mega
projects involve investments of more than US$1 billion. They noted that mega projects
continue to have poor performance records and more likely to have problematic
management experiences, thus of particular interest to this research program.
The Dubai-Fujairah highway was considered to be a unique mega project in the
UAE with estimated budget of AED 1.43 billion (estimated July 2009). The project was
intended to link the Emirates of Dubai and Sharjah with the Eastern Coast areas to
relief the traffic congestion on existing highways. The Dubai-Fujairah highway was
expected to reduce the travel time between the destinations and minimise the rate of
road accidents. It has a history of management and construction changes, with
extensive delays and construction problems.
This phase of the research involved a number of site visits, in-depth interviews, and
discussions with major stakeholders, as well as a focus group session with ten senior
management personnel representing the five stakeholder groups to examine reasons
for the difficulties experienced in its completion. The results of the focus group
discussion are particularly relevant here, given that many of the issues raised in the
omnibus survey were discussed in-depth by this group. The ten interviewees were key
players in the Dubai-Fujairah highway project. They included the followings: three
sponsors/clients (director of road department, head of project planning department and
executive director of work affairs), three management firms representatives (head of
road department, senior planning engineer, and liaison engineer), one consultant
(director: transport division), one contractor (project manager), and two representing
governmental agencies (executive director of electricity and director). These individuals

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Table I.
Details of the 20
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exhibited a clear understanding of the research work, and were cooperative, willing
and happy to participate in the research from their own personal experience. The focus
group was facilitated by the research team and detailed records of the discussion were
analysed.
Analysis of the data
NVivo software was used to analyse this data. The unit of analysis in this study was
the stakeholder involved in transportation construction projects. NVivo is a
proprietary software package for the organisation and analysis of complex
non-numerical unstructured qualitative data. It is primarily used by qualitative
researchers working with very rich text-based and/or multimedia information,
where deep levels of analysis on small or large volumes of data are required. The
software allows users to classify, sort and arrange thousands of pieces of information;
examine complex relationships in the data; and combine subtle analysis with linking,
shaping, searching and modelling.
Study results
The results reported here focus on the six research questions presented above. The
relevant findings from Phases I and II (focus group discussions) are combined here to
provide a comprehensive account of these key issues.
Influence of the key stakeholders
Figure 2 shows the results from the Phase I interviews for the relative importance of
each of the key stakeholder groups in a successful TIP. It shows that federal
government and their agents were the stakeholder group that most respondents
believed to have the greatest ability to affect the success of the project. Almost one-half
believed that the client also had strong influence and one-third thought the sponsor and
state government also could have a strong effect on the success of transportation
infrastructure projects. Six out of the 20 interviewees also identified State Government
Departments and Financial Institutes as key stakeholders. Consultants and contractors
were judged the least important stakeholders affecting the project success.
There was little agreement though amongst the 20 interviewees on how the stakeholders
influenced projects. The highest reason offered for this (35 percent in total) was the ability to

Figure 2.
Interviewees judgments of
relative importance of key
stakeholder groups

Note: Percentage of respondents, n = 20

affect project execution and flow of activities. Moreover, the ability to affect budget, to
conduct and influence planning and design, the level of involvement in a project and the role
a stakeholder plays in a given project were also equally noted as important aspects.
These findings were further confirmed by the focus group attendees in Phase II in
discussions of the Dubai-Fujairah highway project. With regard to the early
experiences with the project, the Ministry claimed that:
[. . .] knowledge and experience of the client is very important because at the end of the day
they make the decisions. Sometimes the decision makers, the higher-ups, are not engineers,
they need feedback from their people and they filter the information coming from the
designer, the people who are under them. It depends on them.

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Critical stages of mega TIP projects

During Phase I research, almost all (85 percent) of the interviewees identified good
planning as the most critical stage of transportation infrastructure projects while close to
one-half of the interviewees also identified design as another very critical stage (Table II).
It is interesting to note that only one interviewee (a contractor) identified
tendering as the most critical stage. Scoping, construction and scheduling were
only considered critical stages by just a few of the interviewees.
The importance of the initial design phase and the government-client relationship
was stressed during the focus group discussions in Phase II. The member from the
Ministry noted that design was a major problem with the Dubai-Fujairah highway
project that involved several design changes throughout its duration:
The initial design did not include site supervision. Some of the criteria have been changed
[subsequently] [. . .] engineering problems with the design [. . .] mountainous road with certain
criteria [. . .] if money is limited or the budget is limited, you can only design the road based on
the budget, but if the money is there and the budget can be increased, so you can enhance and
revise the design criteria.

It was also noted that decision-making, also, was important. Designers usually give
a number of alternative designs, so the client must decide quickly which design to
adopt so that the other stakeholders are not unnecessarily delayed in the process.
Defining and measuring project success
Table III shows that interviewees in Phase I used a number of different indicators to
define project success with some interviewees defining project success in more

Sponsor/client
(n 5)
Planning
Scoping
Design
Scheduling
Tendering
Construction

4
0
2
0
0
0

Governmental
agency
Management firm Consultants Contractors Total
(n 3)
(n 2)
(n 5)
(n 5)
(n 20)
3
0
0
1
0
0

1
0
2
0
0
0

4
0
2
0
0
0

5
3
3
3
1
3

17
3
9
4
1
3

Note: The numbers in the body of the table are the number responding from each stakeholder group

Table II.
Assessments of critical
stages for a successful
transportation project

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Table III.
Participants definition of
a successful project

Minimum time overrun

Minimum cost overrun
Achieving project
objectives
Achieving stakeholder
expectations/satisfaction
Excellent quality
Othera

Sponsor Government Management

client
agency
firm
Consultants Contractors Total
(n 5)
(n 3)
(n 2)
(n 5)
(n 5)
(n 20)
2
1

2
1

2
2

4
3

3
3

13
10

1
1
1

1
0
2

0
1
0

1
1
1

2
2
1

5
5
5

Notes: aAll other reasons scored only 1 response from any participant; a number of interviewees
provided multiple responses; the numbers in the body of the table are the number responding from
each stakeholder group

than one way. Overall, minimum time overrun was mentioned by 65 percent of the
interviewees and minimum cost overrun was mentioned by 50 percent of the
interviewees. Achieving project objectives, achieving stakeholders expectations and
excellent quality was also noted as significant.
Three specific questions focused on measuring project success.
(i) Department/organisation project success measures. Interviewees indicated that
their department/organisation made use of a range of different project success
measures. Overall, they identified excellent quality and minimum time overrun as the
two most common project success measures each identified by 11 out of the
20 interviewees. Minimum cost overrun (identified by eight interviewees) and
achieving stakeholders expectations (six interviewees) were also identified as popular
project success factors. Other measures, such as adequate financial liquidity, excellent
management, experienced staff, having no project claims and safety were only
identified once by the interviewees.
(ii) Interviewees opinions on most important measure of project success. Overall,
excellent quality was identified by 12 out of the 20 interviewees as the most important
measure, followed by minimum time overrun and achieving stakeholders expectations
(each identified by eight interviewees). Availability of finance and environmentally
safe projects were identified by only one interviewee as the most important project
success measures.
(iii) Reasons for selecting the most important measure of project success. Overall, the
most important reason identified relates to stakeholder satisfaction (increase
stakeholders level of satisfaction identified by 11 out of the 20 interviewed) followed
by reasons relating to time and budget overruns identified by six interviewees. Few
interviewees identified reasons relating to quality and project uniqueness.
Members of the Phase II focus group agreed that the Dubai-Fujairah highway
project had not been a very good example of a successful Mega project. Costs had
sky-rocketed during its ten year history, a number of redesigns had been employed,
new contracts had to be made with new contractors mid-stream, and there had been at
least three changes in the senior client representatives since the project commenced.
The Ministry representative noted that:

Our Director General was not involved from the start [. . .] [now] has the knowledge and is
personally involved in the project [. . .] visiting the project [site] regularly and attending some
of the meetings so he makes decisions directly.

The focus group totally agreed that the knowledge and experience of the senior client
representative can have a major influence on the project success. Failures occur when those
at the top lack the knowledge and what is critically required in pursuing a mega project.
Interviewees in Phase I were also asked to indicate what proportion of projects they
believed had been completed successfully in the UAE (only one of the five interviewees
from the contractors group could answer this question). Of them, the majority
(12 interviewees out of the 16 who answered this question) claimed that over 70 percent
of the projects had been completed successfully in terms of cost and time
overrun and poor quality, although they did not produce any evidence to support this
figure.
Defining and measuring unsuccessful projects
Two specific interview questions addressed issues relating to unsuccessful projects.
First, how the specific department/organisation defined unsuccessful projects, and
second, how failed projects were measured by the department or organisation.
Generally, the majority of the interviewees indicated that they agreed with the project
failure measures used by their organisation, with only a few indicating that they only
agreed to some extent.
Department/organisation definition of unsuccessful (failed) project. Unsuccessful or
failed projects were defined in a number of different ways. Overall, interviewees
identified cost overrun (identified by eight interviewees), time overrun (seven
interviewees) and poor quality (six interviewees) as the most common definitions used
for unsuccessful projects. Only one interviewee identified not achieving stakeholders
expectations and commuters dissatisfaction as definitions for unsuccessful projects.
Project failure measures used by departments/organisations. The responses show
a variety of measures used to describe failed projects. Overall, interviewees identified
poor quality (seven interviewees), cost overrun (six interviewees) and time overrun
(six interviewees) as the most common measures used. Referring to the earlier
discussion on measures of project success, both success and failure are measured
primarily in terms of quality, time and cost.
Many of these issues were also raised by members of the Phase II focus group in
trying to describe why the Dubai-Fujairah highway was not successful. One response
from the meeting sums up the lack of coordination issue:
The original designer designed the project, gave alternatives and we chose some of his
alternatives and he finished the design. Later on, which is one of these mistakes [. . .] there was
not the supervision. They resigned and someone else came in, so the supervision engineer, which
is when [company name] came in and one of their task was to review the original design as a
professional consultant. They came and said that this [design] was sub-standard in some
areas and they proposed some revisions to the design which were sent back to the original
designer.

Factors causing unsuccessful completion of projects

Interviewees provided a variety of responses with regard to the factors that cause
unsuccessful completion of projects, as shown in Table IV.

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Table IV.
Factors causing
unsuccessful project
completions

Unqualified-bad
contractors
Bad design
Price increments
Availability of
resources
Improper planning and
scooping
Lack of coordination
with local government
Material procurements
Inadequate budget
assigned
Poor coordination with
utility firms

Sponsor/ Governmental Management

client
agency
firm
Consultants Contractors Total
(n 5)
(n 3)
(n 2)
(n 5)
(n 5)
(n 20)
2
0
0

2
0
1

1
1
0

1
2
0

0
1
3

6
4
4

2
0

0
0

1
0

0
0

0
3

3
3

Note: The numbers in the body of the table are the number responding from each stakeholder group

The most common interview responses related to unqualified or bad contractors, bad
design and price increments. There were a number of other reasons raised in other
questionnaire items and in the Phase II focus group discussions of the case study that
addressed this issue as well. These included unqualified consultants and unqualified
engineers as major factors. Poor co-ordination with local governments, governmental
processes, unavailability of resources, and lack of material procurement were also
mentioned a number of times.
In examining more closely the reasons for project time overrun and cost overrun,
interviewees gave a wide range of responses. For time overrun, these included
variation in design and schedules (often un-reviewed), improper planning and scoping
or poor cost estimates. For cost overruns, they included unexpected material cost
increases and inflation. Human resource issues included lack of availability and/or
reliability of staff, insufficient work labour skills, coming from a different cultural
background, and no experience or skills.
Management practice in the UAE
Two questions were asked with respect to management practice in the UAE. The first
question asked interviewees in Phase I to rank management practice as excellent, very
good, good, or fair. The second question asked for a reason for the response given to
the first question. The results for the first question are shown in Table V.
One-half of the interviewees regard management practice in the UAE as good and
another one-quarter noted they were excellent or very good generally. A range of
reasons in the second question was given for the above responses to the ranking of
management practice. These cluster around the following three major reasons:
(1) Poor human resources mentioned five times (responses included unqualified
managers still learning, engaging best qualifications hiring appropriately
qualified staff, workforce variations and availability of resources).

(2) Lack of use of international design and quality standards mentioned four times.
(3) Lack of a continuous improvement culture mentioned three times.
Two interviewees clarified that the double track mega projects that are currently
taking place in the UAE is overloading all entities and hence affecting negatively on
the ranking of management practice in the UAE. Poor human resources were also
identified above as a key management concern in the implementation of infrastructure
projects in the UAE.
The responses from the Phase II focus group discussions however revealed
additional information on some of the management problems associated with the
construction of the Dubai-Fujairah highway, typified by the following quotation by one
of the engineering design consultants:

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Not all the agencies were separate. For instance there was Federal Agency for Water [. . .]
they have branches in each emirate. So this is something that needs coordination in
terms of water allocation services. But for other agencies like the Ministry of Communication,
the police department, the municipalities, those are completely separate entities, so
each emirate has its own agencies and there is no major federal agency that organised the
process.

The interviewee further elaborated on the complexity of the project, saying:

This project is one of the mega projects and is the most complicated projects, probably, in
the UAE, probably in the GCC, because it is in mountainous regions [. . .] you need an
experienced designer, an experienced reviewer, and you need an experienced contractor to
achieve it. I think there was a lack of experience. I think this road was designed as a normal
road, and it is not a normal road. And the lack of experience in this area from all parts
contributed too much. Lack of experience in design, lack of experience in making decisions,
changes in management during the middle of construction, a big mistake [. . .] everything
stopped, and the costs went up.

The importance of communication among stakeholders

A series of questions in the Phase I interviews focused on communication: how critical
good communication is for the success of projects, the methods used and the
effectiveness of communication within and across the stakeholders.
In terms of its criticalness, practically all those interviewed agree that good
communication is very critical for the success of the project. They noted that the most

Sponsor/client
(n 5)
Excellent
Very good
Good
Fair
No clear answer

2
0
3
1
0

Governmental
agency
Management firm Consultants Contractors Total
(n 3)
(n 2)
(n 5)
(n 5) (n 20)
0
0
3
0
0

0
1
0
1
0

1
0
2
0
1

0
1
2
1
1

3
2
10
3
2

Note: The numbers in the body of the table are the number responding from each stakeholder group

Table V.
Ranking of management
practices in the UAE

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506

commonly used methods of communication included meetings with minutes and

written documents. E-mail was also used frequently, although the use of e-meetings
was only mentioned once. Other methods included the telephone and site visits. It was
stressed that good communication needs to be fast and efficient, decisions made must
be documented, and meetings should involve all key stakeholders that allow personal
interaction and the flow of ideas.
In terms of current effectiveness, there was general sense among the 20 interviewees
that communication within their organisation was effective, although others felt that it
was not always as effective as it should have been or often failed to provide clear
answers. There was also less agreement amongst the interviewees on the effectiveness
of communication across the different stakeholder groups. A number of suggestions
were made on how to improve communication, namely by establishing communication
committees that meet regularly, having a chair to avoid wasting time, making
electronic communication official, and creating a manual or system procedure for
communication.
Claims were made that communication had not been very effective in the
Dubai-Fujairah highway project by the participants in the Phase II focus group. As
noted by the construction manager:
At the first design stage of it, there was a high level committee created by the ministry
officials headed by the undersecretary. By creating this committee it was a central
communication. I say that one of the issues that negatively affected the progress of the project
was that this committee didnt carry on to the end of it. In my opinion if we have
this committee till the end to the construction that would facilitate the construction. If there is
no communication, everybody is doing their own thing and there is no collaboration.

Through the central committee, progress meetings were quite successful in minimising
communication efforts through letters and correspondences, as noted by the Ministry
representative:
We had such meetings in the ministry in order to bring all the parties [together] and to
overcome all the issues and [tried to] avoid all the correspondence [. . .] we had to exchange a
lot of letters, and finally we decided to have these meeting to solve problems, we give targets,
finish.

These meetings were also a means of resolving disputes and problems as noted by the
senior design consultant:
For example, if the contractor raised a flag and said Ill be facing some delay that is affecting
my program and I have to get this information within this time. So, we try to solve this
problem. Some of them are minor problems and some of them would affect progress, because
it is a critical activity which they should do now.

The interviewee also noted that opinions were against discontinuing this central
committee.
There is a strong belief that such a committee could have even assisted in the
construction phases. Explicit statements were made that the progress of the project
was negatively affected by discontinuing the committee:
By creating this committee it was a central communication. I say that one of the issues that
negatively affected the progress of the project was that this committee didnt carry on to the

end of it. In my opinion if we have this committee till the end to the construction that would
facilitate even the construction.

Coordination among stakeholders

Timmermans and Beroggi (2000) noted that good coordination among stakeholders
is recognised as a key issue in transportation infrastructure projects. Two questions in
the Phase I interviews focused on the effectiveness of co-ordination amongst
stakeholders in UAE mega TIP projects and ways that it could be improved.
One-half of the interviewees indicated that coordination amongst the
stakeholders in the UAE was generally effective while another seven thought that it
was effective to some extent. The remaining three interviewees indicated that
coordination amongst the stakeholders was generally not effective in most UAE
projects. This data showed the need to create effective communication procedures, to
have regular meetings and distribute official communications among stakeholders and
to lower organisation levels of the project. These were all considered appropriate and
necessary methods of communication to ensure success. These findings were again
confirmed from the discussions held in the Phase II focus group. Many of the
participants expressed the lack of effective coordination among stakeholders in several
ways.
Part of its role (the early management committee) was to arrange and coordinate the
services issues between all the relevant agencies across the emirates:
It really helped lots and we remember it was on a monthly meeting basis. A higher committee
for that purpose and its role was to facilitate NOCs [No Objection Certificates] and get the
departments or the relevant agencies to work together.

Interviewees in Phase I provided many suggestions with respects to improving

coordination amongst stakeholders in a follow-up unrestricted question. The majority
of those responses fell into four broad categories. These involved:
(1) the introduction of coordination regulations or models (30 percent);
(2) to introduce new technology (20 percent including develop a GIS-based
master plan with federal and local governments involved);
(3) the early involvement of stakeholders (20 percent including clarify project
requirements from the beginning); and
(4) to introduce legislated coordination committees including the introduction of
documented procedures (15 percent).
Other suggestions raised by both Phases I and II respondents included information
exchange amongst agencies, increasing the level of trust and professional capabilities,
enhancing problem understanding, and enhancing decision-making and giving greater
authority at lower levels.
Knowledge-sharing in project management
Three of the interviewees did not provide an answer; however, the 17 who answered
indicated full agreement on the importance of knowledge-sharing amongst the
stakeholders. Interviewees were also asked to indicate whether appropriate mechanisms
existed within their organisation/department for sharing knowledge internally.

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12 said yes, four said to some extent and three said no. A number of suggestions were
offered for improving knowledge-sharing. These included:
.
Through presentations, continuous meetings and talking mentioned 12 times.
.
Development of a system mentioned eight times.
.
Establishing of a club or a knowledge centre mentioned twice.
Decision-making in project management
Interviewees were asked for their opinion on the quality and speed of decision-making
in project management and ways to improve this decision-making. In general, their
responses were quite positive. Good quality of decisions (mentioned 15 times) and high
speed (mentioned nine times) were predominant, although eight responses did note low
speed (long delays) in these decisions.
Interviewees made a number of suggestions to improve decision-making. One-half
of the interviewees referred to increasing authority to lower level of the organisation
and seven responses referred to having competent staff. Other suggestions included
having the right information (mentioned three times), introducing a manual (mentioned
three times) and introducing a system for document control (mentioned once).
Improving project success indicators
Finally, interviewees in Phase I were asked to make suggestions as to how the various
project success indicators (project quality, time overrun, cost overrun, and increasing
stakeholders satisfaction level) could be improved. Their responses are summarised
below.
Improving quality of projects. From the responses given, four ways of improving
quality of projects are identified. First, by using competent staff/stakeholders
mentioned seven times (responses included more qualified staff, qualified contractors,
better consultants and contractors. and training staff). Second, by adoption of
standards mentioned four times, including adopt international standards and adopt
optimal standards to suit environment. Third, by improving coordination mentioned
three times, including better coordination amongst stakeholders and good coordination
in planning stage). Fourth, by improved design which was mentioned twice.
Reducing project time overrun. Two major suggestions identified from the range of
responses given by the interviewees are:
(1) proper planning and monitoring, and proper design mentioned eight times;
and
(2) qualified staff/stakeholders mentioned five times (responses included more
qualified staff, staff training, and qualified contractors).
Reducing project cost overrun. From the responses given, the following three ways of
reducing project cost overrun are identified. First, by using qualified staff/equipment
mentioned seven times (responses included proper equipment and staff, more qualified
staff, and staff training); second, by improved project management mentioned five
times (responses included meeting time schedules, minimise interruptions, and proper
project management); and third, increased control over materials mentioned four
times (control material cost, looking for different material options and designs, and
secure materials ahead of time).

Interestingly, use of value engineering and new construction technologies was each
mentioned only once.
Increasing stakeholder satisfaction. A large number of suggestions were made by
the interviewees. From these responses, three major ways for increasing stakeholder
satisfaction are identified:
(1) Improved communication, coordination, support and involvement of
stakeholders mentioned six times, (responses including having better
communication and coordination, better stakeholder involvement in planning
and scoping, getting governments to talk more, improved support from
higher levels (the Cabinet) and better coordination between clients and
municipality).
(2) Meeting project objectives (budget, quality and time) mentioned four times.
(3) Good design mentioned three times.
Interestingly, addressing safety and environmental issues, and minimising claims was
each mentioned only once by the interviewees.
Discussion
The results presented above highlight the complexity involved in managing mega
transportation infrastructure projects in the UAE. Having multiple stakeholders
(government agencies, sponsors/clients, management firms, consultants and
contractors) influencing various stages of projects from planning to implementation,
the need for effective communication, coordination, knowledge-sharing and
decision-making amongst the stakeholders, especially during the planning and design
stages is critical. The need for effective project management is paramount to ensure that
projects can be executed without major delays.
The results from Phase I of the study showed that among the 20 key stakeholders
interviewed, the predominant response focused on government agencies, clients and
thus sponsors, as the most important. According to Mitchells topology (Mitchell et al.,
1997), this can be explained in terms of their power (and possibly legitimacy) in the
decision-making process. It is also consistent with the works of Macharis (2005),
Newcombe (2003) and Elias et al. (2000, 2002, 2004) where they argued that these
groups are considered the traditional main participants in a construction project, and to
this end, a major transportation construction project as well.
There was some agreement amongst those interviewed that the majority of the
projects were completed successfully, although this may have been influenced to some
degree by their positions and the survey itself (no evidence was provided to confirm this
view). In cases where projects were considered unsuccessful, the common factors
identified related to lack of resources, poor project design and planning and overall poor
project management, among other issues. Reasons for poor project management
expressed by the respondents included unavailability of well qualified professional
managers, engineers and other employees as well as having to deal with local
government authorities. There was agreement amongst the interviewees that project
management in the UAE is generally good, but there is considerable room for
improvement in terms of communication, co-ordination, knowledge-sharing and
decision-making amongst the key stakeholders.

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Communication
Views on the importance of communication was equivocal (there was no clear answer
in the responses), especially in the light of previous research by Zwikael et al. (2005);
who reported the critical nature of good communication for improving the overall
success of projects and Stewarts (2007) contention that communication is vital for the
long-term survival of construction firms. This is something worthy of follow up
possibly using more discrete sampling techniques and possibly a range of other (lower
level) stakeholders and workers to test this finding more rigorously.
Co-ordination
Overall, around half of those interviewed indicated that co-ordination amongst the
stakeholders on transportation construction projects in the UAE was generally
effective, or effective to some extent. Only three of those interviewed claimed that the
level of co-ordination was not effective, the majority being clients and sponsors. As
noted by Timmermans and Beroggi (2000), the role of coordination among key
stakeholders is vital for the success of such projects. Given the claim that
transportation construction projects in this region lack coherence and compatibility
due to lack of federal and state government efforts (Kazimi, 2005; Ditcham, 2006, 2007;
Ahmed, 2007; Nazzal, 2005), this requires further, deeper investigation.
Knowledge-sharing
Knowledge-sharing among the stakeholders in this project was acknowledged to be an
important aspect of transportation construction projects. More than 90 percent of those
who responded agreed that it was important or important to some extent. The
respondents acknowledged that there was scope for improvement in knowledge-sharing
by more discussions and meetings, and developing systems for regular sharing of
knowledge electronically from a well-maintained database.
The interactions and interrelationships between participants can help determine the
overall performance of a construction project. Sharing of knowledge needs to be open
and transparent and is recognised as a key issue in successful transportation
infrastructure projects (Timmermans and Beroggi, 2000; Zwikael et al., 2005; Zou et al.,
2007). If knowledge is seen to be withheld or only available to a few, then resentment
can occur by those adversely affected which can impede the success of a project.
Decision-making
The study was particularly interested in determining how effective decision-making
was in transportation construction projects in the UAE and whether this was a key
issue in the success or failure of projects in the region. The results overwhelmingly
showed that this was considered to be a key issue by most of the stakeholders, yet
could be improved in many of these projects in the UAE. A number of suggestions
were offered of ways in which the quality, satisfaction, cost and timing could generally
be improved in the region.
In outlining stakeholder theory, Mitchell et al. (1997) argued that the need for
effective decisions to achieve the project objectives. They claimed in this topology that
the degree of legitimacy, power and urgency by key stakeholders will affect the
influence they have in effective decision-making and ultimately, the success of the
project. This is consistent with the results reported here.

The Dubai-Fujairah highway was chosen for a more in-depth case investigation to
follow up many of these issues. It was a clear example of a less successful mega TIP,
based on its size, a history of management and construction changes, with extensive
delays, cost overruns, and multiple construction problems. Many of the factors
identified during the earlier interviews were seen to exist in this case study, and
highlighted during the focus group discussions. In particular, project management and
many stakeholders changed three times during the project hence there was a lack of
consistency among the key management team. In addition, the project design was
modified several times as the municipalities revised their expectations. Subsequently,
there was poor co-ordination and communication among the key stakeholders leading
to major budget and time overruns (the budget increased six fold during the ten years
or more time taken to complete the project). This was not helped by poor design and
decision-making and inadequate awareness of the engineering requirements and
technical difficulties experienced during excavation.
Conclusion
This aim of the research reported in this paper was to examine the major management
issues that affect mega transportation infrastructure projects in the UAE and identify
the factors that cause unsuccessful project completions. One objective was to identify
the changes that can be made to improve project success. Supported by the literature,
six research questions were developed for this study.
A qualitative research approach was adopted due to the exploratory nature of the
study and the fact that no previous research on this topic had been previously
conducted in the UAE. The discussion above summarised the key findings relating to
these questions, and where applicable, these findings were linked to previous research.
The most significant finding was that communication, co-ordination, decision-making
and knowledge-sharing are not conducted adequately amongst the stakeholders,
leading to poor project outcomes. The results of the study reported in this paper
provided important insights that will benefit the multiple stakeholders involved and
the overall outcomes relating to mega transportation projects in the UAE. Based on the
research findings, three key recommendations for making improvement in
management practice are evident.
First, federal government, through its various ministries, departments and agencies,
clearly has a major role to play in improving project management practice in the UAE.
Communication and coordination amongst government departments and key
stakeholders needs to be streamlined in a number of ways so that effective
knowledge-sharing and decision-making can take place, leading to successful project
outcomes. This is particularly the case during the planning and design stages which
can subsequently reduce the number of changes (redesigns and variations) that are
introduced in later stages of these mega construction projects. Second, there is an
urgent need to improve the skills and competencies of professional staff at all levels
and subsequently delegating authority to lower levels. Unqualified staff was seen as a
major reason by the interviewees and the focus group participants for many of the
issues faced by the transportation construction industry. Improved human resource
strategies that emphasise recruitment, training and development of personnel needs to
be developed and implemented immediately. Third, organisations need to adopt
global international standards to improve their planning, design and construction

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activities in these mega construction projects. There is much to be gained at the

individual, organisational and national levels from the adoption of such standards.
These three areas clearly need further investigation. The adoption of the
recommendations proffered may lead to substantial cost and time savings for all
stakeholders involved in transportation construction projects in the UAE, and perhaps
also apply equally to other construction projects. The current global financial crisis has
put enormous pressure on the UAE federal government in terms of allocating
appropriate funding to complete current projects as well as approve future projects.
The results of this study and the recommendations presented above will be helpful to
the UAE federal government and the major stakeholders involved as they consider
future projects.
The next phase of the research program will explore these issues further through
greater examination of the in-depth case study and associated research material. The
ultimate aim of the program is to develop a risk-based decision model to address the
three-stage conceptual model outlined earlier involving construction stages,
management issues, and stakeholder importance. This risk-model is expected to be
useful for ensuring greater success in future mega TIPs in the UAE.
The study is the first comprehensive study conducted of management practices in
mega transportation construction projects in the UAE. The study is vital, given the
growing number of these large projects being undertaken in the UAE, and the need for
greater effectiveness and efficiencies. It was advantaged by the use of well-proven,
qualitative research methods and access and input from very senior stakeholders in the
management and conduct of transportation construction projects in the region.
There were several limitations that should be acknowledged. While the interviews
were conducted individually, the participants answers were influenced to some degree
by their role and level of experience in these projects. The respondents were carefully
chosen for their position and experience but a larger population of key stakeholders
would have provided a much wider cross-section of participants. In addition, a general
interview is good for highlighting issues and hypotheses; however, they need to be
followed up in more specific case studies to judge their true influence in project success.
This will be undertaken in subsequent research in the construction of transportation
projects in the UAE.
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Corresponding author
Amrik S. Sohal can be contacted at: Amrik.Sohal@monash.edu.au

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