Management of Conflicts with Infrastructure Assets during Projects Execution

Abstract

The construction industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors in Saudi Arabia, and it is considered one of the largest construction industries in the Middle East. This sector has grown in terms of the number of projects and the large allocated budgets within the Kingdom's Vision 2030. In many cases, new infrastructure projects face conflicts with the existing infrastructure assets that are in proximity of the new project's alignment. The poor management of resolving utility conflicts with the execution of infrastructure projects is one of the main issues leading to cost and time overruns and/or significant design changes during execution. Solving this problem through good management of the coordination for co-located infrastructure assets during the project execution will enhance the economic sustainability of infrastructure projects by saving time and money and avoiding unnecessary redesign and rework. To better understand the status quo, the process of managing existing utilities during the execution of infrastructure projects is analyzed in this study by reviewing published regulations and interviewing construction practitioners with prior experience in the issue. In addition, the identified issues in the current practices and the effectiveness of suggested strategies for enhancing the management of existing utilities are assessed using a survey involving experienced practitioners from multiple project stakeholders (owners, consultants, and contractors). Finally, this study introduces recommendations and best practices for managing conflicts with existing assets to execute future infrastructure projects.