Al Wahda Master Development, Abu Dhabi - Association for Project ...

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APM Project Management AwardsWINNER’SCASE STUDYResourcesIt was a truly international project team which compriseda diverse mix of nationalities and cultures. Those workingon project included American, Bangladeshi, Chinese,Croatian, Egyptian, German, Ghanaian, Indian, Iraqi,Italian, Jordanian, Lebanese, Malaysian, Moroccan,Nepalese, Pakistani, Palestinian, Philippino, Portuguese,South African, Sudanese, Syrian, Thai and Tunisian. Intotal there were 31 different nationalities working on thisscheme.EC Harris deployed a dynamic team who were happyto multi-task in their daily roles, allowing the client tomaximise value from the project management team. Itis down to the dedication of that team which made theproject such a success.responsibilities, communication protocols and approvalflowcharts.The development, which is valued at more than £400m,was built between 2005 and 2012 with the objective ofcreating an exciting shopping mall, five-star business hotel,office and residential buildings, resulting in a new businessand shopping destination within the core of the city.The achievement of those objectives involvedsignificant project management from EC Harris over theduration of the seven-year development.ChallengesIn 2008, with the project at 70 per cent complete, theworldwide financial crisis struck, posing the biggestchallenge in the three-phase initiative.The UAE was initially regarded as being immune to thefinancial downturn.However, the ripple reached them by late 2008 and theimpact was bigger than anyone could have forecasted.EC Harris, who was then leading the second phase ofthe development’s construction, faced huge issuesas steel prices rocketed and concrete supply becameunpredictable.Vital early planning to avert supply issues helped toensure the supply lines continued – with main contractorCivilco crucially producing the goods at a time when manyprojects either stalled or entered into dispute.2
APM Project Management AwardsWINNER’SCASE STUDYCo-ordinationThere was an Arab, an Egyptian and an Irishman….It sounds more like the beginning of a joke but, in fact, it’san important point in demonstrating the multicultural mixof the management team of client, engineer and projectmanager.Overcoming multicultural barriers was a majorcontributor to the success of the project and is a challengethat is not normally present in UK-based projects.EC Harris established best practice, clear processes, andcommunicated one-to-one coordination with all teammembers and stakeholders.Importantly the project team was empowered to assumeresponsibility and manage the process effectively.Project successesUltimately, for EC Harris, the project was a major success.They delivered the largest hotel in Abu Dhabi along withone of the cities most vibrant shopping malls – key assetsthat are providing a return on investment to the ownersand wealth to the city.Constantly focused on the holistic delivery of theproject in line with its Built Asset Consultancy ethos whileproviding micro-management support to contractors andsuppliers. EC Harris has received many accolades for theproject – particularly after overcoming the challengingmarket conditions of 2008.3
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