Failure factors of Makkah’s mega construction projects: qualitative study

Abstract

Makkah city in Saudi Arabia is the holiest place for all Muslims across the world due to the presence of Masjid Al-Haram where the “KAABA” is located. In the holy city of Makkah, mega construction projects are currently under construction to accommodate the increased numbers of pilgrims. These mega projects faced many impediments and challenges to be completed successfully. Hence, this paper presents an investigative study on failure factors of mega Makkah construction projects, particularly from the site management viewpoint. The insight issues are based on interview with senior manager having 15 years of working experiences in handling mega construction projects. The interview was carried out on open-ended mode where ample time was given to the respondent to express his experienced in handling Saudi’s construction projects. This study uncovered that 50 % of project failure is due to contractor, 30% is due to client/PMC (Project Management Consultant), 15% is due to supervision consultant and 5% is due external factors. It also identified 58 failure factors and clustered in 4 groups in which the group are Client Instigated Factors with 17 failure factors, Contractor Instigated Factors with 27 failure factors, Consultant Instigated Factors with 10 failure factors and External Instigated Factors with 4 failure factors. The findings are helpful for construction community as well as to researchers to understand the insightful issues engulfing construction projects in Makkah city.

Lessons Learned, Barriers, and Improvement Factors for Mega Building Construction Projects in Developing Countries: Review Study

“…Adam et al [27] have concluded their literature review for all the publications in delay of mega projects with seven groups and less than 30 factors. Al-Kharashi and Skitmore [25] and Al-Emad and Rahman [26] have almost similar results because they have targeted the same area, which is Saudi Arabia. The authors of [24,29] have concentrated on the management issues as the main reasons of delay in the mega projects.…”

“…Al-Emad and Rahman [26] have mentioned 58 failure factors gathered in four groups as the failure factors of Makkah's mega construction projects. These groups are client with 17 factors, contractor with 27 factors, consultant with 10 factors, and external with 4 factors.…”

“…Adam and Josephson [27] have agreed on most of the delay groups in construction projects, while Zarei and Sharifi [28] have gone in more detail of the delay reasons. Al-Emad and Rahman [26] have explored the whole factors of delay in reconstruction and they have summarized it in four groups and 54 factors. Adam et al [27] have concluded their literature review for all the publications in delay of mega projects with seven groups and less than 30 factors.…”

“…Even if the basic construction materials are available in the country, they are not enough to complete the project. There are some essential and unique materials that are in the critical path, causing the delay of the project [25,26].…”

“…The conflict of interest between stakeholders is one of the critical issues in mega projects, and the construction projects in general [26,36]. The contractor aims to have a sufficient ratio of profit, while the owner aims to reduce the cost as much as possible [43].…”