Dubai Metro Project

and

Solar Power Project

1.PROJECT INTRODUCTION

The Project proposal reviews two infrastructure projects that have been completed and due to continuing economic growth require expansion. The projects being discussed are the Dubai Metro project and the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, both based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates..

2.PROJECT INFORMATION

The Dubai Metro Project is the world’s largest driverless train network. Before the Metro was opened in 2009, the primary mode of transport was by car. The Dubai metro comprises of two networks named Green Line and Red Line. The RTA conducted a survey that revealed that 80% of the passengers do not own cars. In 2014, the Dubai Metro recorded an average of 500,000 passengers a day, which equates to 400,000 passengers and associated vehicles being removed from the roads. This reduction according to the RTA has reduced car emissions by 645,000kg per day, Shahbandari, (2014).

Dubai secured the EXPO 2020 and plans were in place to develop the Dubai Metro to serve the site of EXPO 2020 and residential areas. The metro has been a significant success and using the same expertise in the planning stages of the expansion will continue the success.

The original project cost was underestimated, and the project value increased from $4.2bn to $7.8bn. The issues on the project have to be clearly understood so threats can be minimised and opportunities maximised. The original project value classed the project as a mega project according to Davies, Gann & Douglas, (2009). The project, as well as over budget, was delivered late, with stations coming online from September 2009 to April 2010.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is classed as a Mega project due to it’s a value of $3.3bn, (Davies, Gann & Douglas, 2009). Phase 1 of the Solar Park opened in October 2013 in attempt to diversify the energy required for a growing economy, Sambridge, (2013). The project was successfully completed on time and within budget. The solar park is part of the Dubai 2030 plan to change the energy supplies relied upon. The solar park facility is the largest of its kind in the region and can generate enough electricity for more than 500 homes. The electricity produced by the solar park will reduce CO2 then produced by traditional methods of power production, Gulf News (2015).

Dubai natural resources will run out, and it is important to make plans now for the future to ensure enough energy is available to meet the demands of a growing economy. The Solar Park expansion is a clean, renewable energy source that will help Dubai meet its 2030 plan of generating 5% of its electricity from renewable energy sources, Shamsi, (n.d.).

The phase 1 solar park was a success and the lessons learned must be understood so they can be repeated or improved if possible to deliver another successful project.

3.EXTERNAL INFORMATION SOURCES

The references I will be mostly relying on are:

  • Liverpool library,
  • Project management journals
  • Academic journals
  • Industry news
  • Binder, J. (2008) Global Project Management
  • Beamish, P. & Lupton, N. (2009) Managing Joint Ventures. Academy of Management Perspectives.
  • Davies, A., Gann, D. & Douglas, T. (2009) ‘Innovation in megaprojects: systems integration at London Heathrow Terminal 5’.
  • David Wirick, D. (2011) Public-Sector Project Management: Meeting the Challenges and Achieving Results.
  • Esty, B.C. & Sesia, A. (2010) ‘An overview of project finance and infrastructure finance—2009 update’. In: University of Liverpool/Laureate Online Education (ed.) (2011) Integrated Infrastructure Management course pack. New York: McGraw-Hill.
  • Gorod, A. White, B. Ireland, V. Gandhi, J. & Sauser, B. (2014) Case Studies in System of Systems, Enterprise Systems, and Complex Systems Engineering Hillman, A. & Keim, G. (2001) Shareholder Value, Stakeholder Management And Social Issues: Whats the Bottom Line?
  • Merna, A. & Njiru C. (2002) Financing Infrastructure Projects.
  • OCED (2006) OCED Annual Report
  • Oracle (2009) Public Sector Project Management.
  • PMBOK Risk Planning available at:
  • PMI (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge: PMBOK Guide, 5th edn. Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute, Inc.
  • Sanghera, P. (2010) ‘PMP In Depth: Project Management Professional Study Guide for the PMP Exam, 2nd edn’. Boston, Course Technology, a part of Cengage Learning
  • Scott, L. (2014) The importance of infrastructure development and real estate investment in the Middle East in anticipation of World Expo 2020 and the FIFA World Cup 2022.
  • Wysocki, R.K. (2012) ‘Effective Project Management: Traditional, Agile, Extreme’. 6th ed. Indianapolis: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

4.PROJECT OBJECTIVES

A critical factor in ensuring planned economic growth is achieved, requires the development of existing infrastructure projects and new infrastructure projects. Infrastructure projects are essential for economic growth, OCED (2006). With both the Dubai Metro project and the Solar Park projects being expanded the project manager, and his team need to consider the following points:

  • What’s the benefit of the project expansion
  • Key challenges for private and public sector projects
  • Tensions within infrastructure projects
  • Project Financing
  • Stakeholder and JV challenges
  • Lessons Learned from similar projects?

The points above need to be considered by the PM before the new expansion projects are started.

5.CONCLUSION

The Dubai Metro failed to deliver on time and within budget. While the solar park was successfully completed on schedule and to budget. Even though the Solar Park was a success, the project data should be studied so that all parties understand who this was achieved. The more obvious is to study and understand what went wrong on the Dubai Metro project to avoid repeating the same mistakes. The lessons learned on any project are critical to moving forward and striving to achieve success on the next project.

References

Davies, A., Gann, D. & Douglas, T. (2009) ‘Innovation in megaprojects: systems integration at London Heathrow Terminal 5’. [Online] Available from: (Accessed on 14 April 2015)

Gulf News (2015) Dubai Doubles Capacity Of Mega Solar Park. [Online] Available from: (Accessed on 14 April 2015)

OCED (2006) OCED Annual Report [Online] Available from: (Accessed on 20 March 2015)

Sambridge, A. (2013) Phase 1 of Dubai's $3.3bn solar park goes live [Online] Available from: (Accessed on 14 April 2015)

Shamsi, F. (n.d.) Solar Energy in Dubai Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park United Arab Emirates - Dubai [Online] Available from: (Accessed on 14 April 2015)

Shahbandari, S. (2014) Dubai Metro Completes Five Successful Years [Online] Available from: (Accessed on 14 April 2015)