Early involvement of stakeholders may avoid having to undergo significant changes in scope, resulting in delays and cost overruns.
End users and other stakeholders should always be involved in projects of this scale. When a PPP project is planned, the Procuring Authority and the Project Company should identify the end users to understand their needs and activities. This is particularly important where there are a range of stakeholders, which, in the case of an airport, include airlines and retailers, as well as passengers. This will avoid having to undergo significant changes in scope, resulting in delays and cost overruns.
Setting up a dedicated project team may help to mitigate risks from political and institutional changes.
The Jordanian Ministry of Transport (MOT) decided to form a dedicated project team for the Queen Alia International Airport expansion. The benefits of this decision were most evident when the MOT was undergoing unusually frequent changes in ministers. With the PMU being separate from the MOT and concentrated on the airport, the disruptive effects of those frequent changes were avoided. The PMU staff remained the same, ensuring continuity of knowledge and contract management. Additionally, most of the decision-making was within its remits, other than high-level strategic decisions which required escalation to the MOT. This limited the potential decision-making delays caused by the changes in the MOT. This example shows how setting up a dedicated team to deliver and manage the project helps mitigate risks from political and institutional changes.
Involving end users in the construction works can streamline the progress of construction and facilitate a fast transition from one stage to another.
Expanding an operational airport presented a significant challenge in the construction phase. The process was carried out by delivering the expansion in small packages around the original structure, with operations shifting from one section to another by having contractors and end users alternate between each stage. Involving end users (represented through services such as customs, security, airlines, etc.) in the construction works helped them become ready when the time came to move their operation to a different section of the airport. This process streamlined the progress of construction and facilitated quick transition from one stage to another.
Flexibility and commitment of the Procuring Authority to deal with unforeseen circumstances can have a significant positive impact on the overall success of a project.
The Procuring Authority was able to proactively manage changes and variations initiated on the project. While some variations could have been avoided, the government has shown the willingness to act as an enabler. When the Procuring Authority requested variations to accommodate its needs, it was fully prepared to take up the costs associated with them and facilitated the approval from the government.
Another notable incident occurred when an airline was late in its payments to the Project Company, which was then forced to notify the Procuring Authority that it would not be able to meet its investment payments on time. The Procuring Authority acted flexibly in this regard to reach a workable conclusion with the Project Company.
Early and robust transition planning will make transition phases more efficient.
The parties understood the challenges of transition phases from an early stage, and careful planning started two years before the transition from construction to operations. The effective transition management, as well as early planning and training, ensured good transfer of knowledge from the construction team to the operations team and helped overall readiness for service commencement, which, in turn, enabled a timely and smooth commencement of the services operation.