The impediments to the adoption of the design and build project procurement strategy in the Saudi construction industry

Abstract

In the fast moving world with open international markets, the timely completion of construction projects within a stipulated budget will be of the highest priority. It can take months, years, and even decades to plan, design, procure, construct and handover a project to the client. Delays can mean failure. Similar to other parts of the world, the Saudi construction industry is being increasingly challenged to provide for faster, more economical and better construction. Clients are looking for new innovative methods that will shorten the project duration, meet the established budget and achieve the desired quality level. Design and Build (D&B) project procurement strategy appears to present a viable option. Whilst the benefits of D&B contracting have been directly realized in many industries for procuring various projects in many parts of the world, the Saudi construction industry has been slow to accept the D&B option. The D&B project delivery option has not been adopted on a grand scale and its application is still limited. The traditional design, bid, build (D.B.B) project delivery option still dominates the local Saudi construction industry. On a close examination, there appears to be impediments preventing the adoption of D&B contracting within the Saudi construction industry. This study will investigate and define these impediments and propose practical recommendations to overcome them. To investigate this problem and discover these practical solutions, a mixed methodology approach is employed. Both quantitative and qualitative data from surveys and direct interviews have been gathered. The interviews were conducted with key participants representing consulting and contracting firms, manufacturers, developers, public and private sector clients, financial market evaluators, and insurance firms. To enrich the investigation, a pertinent case study for a university campus which was procured along the D&B option is also examined. The main findings are reported with a set of recommendation. The results suggest that local industry stakeholders are divided or undecided on the benefits of D&B and its appropriateness. The nature of these impediments are cultural, lack of knowledge about D&B option, a scarcity of medium size D&B firms, and current government contracts which are based on the traditional D.B.B delivery option. Recommendations to improve the performance and productivity utilizing D&B are presented including a practical guidelines model to be consulted by D&B clients.