Project Management of the Burj Al- Arab

Construction – 1994-2000 UAE Dubai

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Dubai’s economy has been built off the oil industry; most of
the country’s wealth came from oil since its discovery in 1960.  Since the
end of oil era was in sight and the country’s economy has to be
diversified to keep it strong and support royals lifestyle.

Burj Al-Arab Project was conceived as a response to the looming end of

oil era in Dubai by the then Crown Prince Sheik Mohammed in 1990.

He was determined to position Dubai as World’s most exclusive luxury

holiday destination and playground for the rich by diversification of
Dubai’s economy through tourism and real estate - OBJECTIVE

Construction of the Island began in 1994, the island was to serve as the
base for the 1,053 fts iconic structure.

The project has a 6-year completion timeline and budget of 1 billion

dollars.

The hotel was billed to have its first set of Guests to celebrate the
millennium December 31 1999/1st January 2000.

Hence, it was a race against time for the entire project team to deliver
this iconic structure within the confines of …….

Triple constraint of time, scope and cost

INTRODUCTION

Burj Al- Arab is the third tallest luxury hotel in the world (1,053 fts), this
gigantic edifice is in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The property was
formerly named Dubai Chicago beach hotel.

This Masterpiece was constructed on Artificial Island of 280 meters to

depict a sail raising from the river, it was built to resemble the
billowing spinnaker sail of a J-class yacht. This was conceived by one of
the greatest architect in modern history (Tom Wrights). 

Tom wrights when giving account of thoughts behind this innovative

construction said the 

“The brief was that the client asked to create a building – GOAL that
would become an  icon for Dubai  rather like the:

Sydney has its Opera House,

USA has its Statue of Liberty,

Egypt has its pyramids &

Paris has its Eiffel Tower.

We built the tower on its own island because it enhanced the iconic nature
of the building, and that seemed logical because the building was inspired
by the sail of a dhow, looking like the traditional Arabian sailing vessel’. –
(Tom, Wrights 2000).

The building was (Consultant i.e Engineer and Architect)

Designed by WS Atkins & Partner with Tom Wright as the Chief Architect
and

by project managed – Planning Scheduling - control etc by Canadian

Engineer Rick Gregory,

Anthony McCarter was the Structural Engineer,

AL Habtoor Engineering handled the Concrete and Block works,

Murray and Robert worked on Steel fabrication,

Mike McNicholas was the Island Engineer,

while the interior  of the iconic edifice was adorned by world renowned
interior decorator, Ms. Kuan Chew of KCA International.

PROJECT LIFE CYCLE

The project was phased into 5 distinct parts with assigned milestones to
each of the phases. 

Phase 1: Project Initiation (Business Case and justification)

Phase 2: Project Planning (Vendor Selection, Mobilization and

Resourcing (Human and Materials)

Phase 3: Project Execution (Construction of the Island and Hotel Building,

Interior decoration)

Phase 4: Project Monitoring (Inspection)

Phase 5: Project closure (Project Handover after successful Testing and

Acceptance by the Crown Prince/Owner/Client)

CONSTRUCTION WORK

Construction executed using a two-faced approach which was;

1. Value Engineering ??? and Constructability ????

2. Actual Construction  

VALUE ENIGNEERING AND CONSTRUCTABILITY

This approach was meant to address the complexity of the building

construction. The approach is cost saving and makes building process
seamless.

ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION
Actual construction of the project kicked off with the construction of
Artificial Island which commenced in 1994, It took 3 years to reclaim
the land from sea and less than 3 years to construct the building.

The Island rises 7 and a half meters above the waves and It was
protected by concrete honeycomb shape solid blocks designed to
reduce the effects of waves. This was the pioneering effort to use these
designs of blocks in the Persian Gulf.

THE CONCEPT AND DESIGN

Protection of the island was a major concern for the Island Engineers as
waves could break through it and impact the main structure. 

There were heated debates as it was proposed that rock should be used
to shield the structure from wave effect since this supported available
technology - In which Phase of the Life Cycle?

However, the chief Architect opposed the proposal as it will contradict

his idea of sail rising from water.

There were concerns on height of island then Island Engineer

experimented with First sets of concrete blocks- specially designed to
reduce impact of waves.  The efficiency of the concrete blocks was tested
for 3 weeks and the result was positive.

PROJECT ANAYLISIS

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

Consortium of Engineers -???? DIFFERENT FROM JOINT VENTURE

with innovative skills worked on construction of The Burj Al-Arab Project
and each charged with unique responsibilities.

 Al Habtoor Engineering oversaw Labor and materials (Concrete and

Block work).
      Murray and Roberts provided expertise for steel fabrication, logistics
and erection.

      Fletcher being experienced in management of High rise

constructions provided the Project manager

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT RISK

Considering the size of the project and number of Experts that were co-
opted into the project, majority of potential risks were (Identified –
WHEN??? ---- redistributed to companies that were equipped to handle
them.

 The below were few of highlighted risks and were properly mitigated
during construction.

S/N IDENTIFIED RISKS MITIGANTS

1.   Risk of being unable to The Project Manager Sourced Skilled
hire sufficient Skilled labor Professionals from outside the Gulf to
to professionally execute meet the labor demands of   the
the project within the Gulf project. More than 3,000 companies,
Region. This could 250 designers and 3,500 workers were
potentially impact Project hired globally for the Project. Work
delivery timeline of Dec never ceased on the project 24 hours
1999. and 7 days a week for the entire
project duration.
2.   Problems with sourcing of Finest materials were sourced globally
high end materials from USA, UK, Brazil, South Africa, Italy
required for the project and India. Such Materials ranged from
with the region Steel, Marbles. Etc.
3.   Cost Control  Dedicated team was set up to ensure
competitive pricing of materials and
labors from suppliers throughout the
project lifecycle. This helped in
 keeping the project within budget.
4.   Scope creep was a major The Project management team
concern because of the ensured that the signed scope was
size and budget of the implemented as documented and Due
project. Also, due to process was followed for
tastes and affluence of the implementation of change requests.
royals who are the project Also, there was constant engagement
sponsor. This risk was very with the sponsor to ensure that they
imminent. are well informed of this risk to the
overall delivery timeline.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

Burj al Arab being a unique project with huge budget was funded
through loan of $1.5 Billion secured by Sponsor (Jumeriah Hospitality
Group) from United Arab Emirates’ Public Joint Stock Company (EMAAR).
This Company is the largest Land and Property Development Company
in the Gulf region. Jumeriah Hospitality Group is part of Dubai holding
commercial operations group (DHCOG) and the Crown Prince Sheik
Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum is the Vice President.

To ensure that funds were judiciously managed, Mr. Shyamal DAS was
appointed as the financial Manager for the project.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOLS

To ensure that the project was successfully delivered, Construction

Engineers Al Habtoor used the below project management software in
addition to other standard project management ITTO as specified by
PMBok.

1.   Microsoft Project and

 2. Primavera for Planning and Scheduling.

WHAT WENT WELL

The Project Management Firm played a vital role on the delivery of Burj
Al Arab Hotel as they collaborated between consortium of experts hired
to deliver the project. 

1.       They were also charged with the responsibility of Planning,

Scheduling and break down of project activities. They were very
proactive in identification of risks and mitigating the same.

2.       The Project Manager was able to effectively balance the

Triple Constraint of Time, Scope and Cost.

3.       The Project Manager did a decent job by hiring the best
minds for every aspect of the project.

4.       Project quality was rated A+ because of the unconventional

engineering ingenuity brought to bare during the execution of
the project.

5.       The team was able to manage their differences in ideas and
opinions effectively to achieve desired outcome.

CRITICISM

The project was criticized for having 39% of its total height
non-occupiable space, this is due to the design of the building
which focused more on Aesthetics than functionality of the
entire structure.
PROPOSED IMPROVEMENT

The Project Manager could have proposed a revision to the

drawing before implementation to accommodate more
occupiable space to ensure that project deliver best value to
the sponsor and increasing return on investment.

CONCLUSION

Burj Al Arab Project was an Overall success because the

project was a unique, first of its kind in the Persian Gulf and
the very first building in the world to be constructed on an
artificial Island. The Project was a milestone achievement in
both engineering and Hospitality World. The Project was
delivered on schedule, within budget and scope despite
numerous constraints. The Project Manager did a fantastic job
by being able to manage differences in ideas, culture and
opinions effectively to achieve desired outcome and the
sponsors were very excited with the execution and delivery.