Evaluating risk management in independent water and power plant projects in Saudi Arabia

Yousef Alsulaiman, Graeme Bowles, Stephen Ogunlana

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Worldwide countries are striving to meet demands for water and power, which have been estimated as likely to increase at a rate of 7 percent per annum over the coming decade. Water and power plant projects following the Independent Water and Power Plant (IWPP) approach have typically involved a plethora of risks, as they have been reliant on long-term arrangements to transfer project risks, traditionally borne by the government, to the private sector. Since about 75% of IWPP projects in Saudi Arabia (SA) have failed to meet specified objectives, effective risk management (RM) implementation is key to the success of any public and private project. Practitioners, who are key informants in this subject area, have related their experience about RM in IWPP projects in SA through semi-structured interviews, and analysed these through the grounded theory approach. This study gathers and collates data to present findings in a propositional diagram that is fully grounded, based on practitioners' experiences that extend to the ineffectiveness of implementing RM in water and power projects, specifically in IWPP projects in SA. Findings indicate that IWPP parties have implemented RM in an informal way. In addition, there is a general lack of RM knowledge in the SA water and power industry. The paper concludes with an emergent diagram illustrating major phenomena, categories, and subcategories affecting the implementation of RM in IWPP projects in SA.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings 30th Annual Association of Researchers in Construction Management Conference, ARCOM 2014
PublisherARCOM
Pages1409-1417
Number of pages9
ISBN (Print)9780955239083
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2014
Event30th Annual Association of Researchers in Construction Management Conference - Portsmouth, United Kingdom
Duration: 1 Sept 20143 Sept 2014

Conference

Conference30th Annual Association of Researchers in Construction Management Conference
Abbreviated titleARCOM 2014
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityPortsmouth
Period1/09/143/09/14

Keywords

  • IWPP
  • Risk
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Water and power

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Civil and Structural Engineering

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