Partnering approach to support collaborative working environment in Mecca construction industry

Abstract

Saudi Arabia construction industry is considered as one of the largest growing markets in the Middle East. The government of Saudi Arabia has been allocating billions of USD in the development of the country. The western province is at the center of this development starting from the expansion of the holy mosque to the industrial and commercial construction in the holy city. Like many other construction industries around the world, Saudi Arabia is facing serious issues regarding the success of delivery system of construction projects such as delays and cost overrun. Therefore, this study has been undertaken with the aim to evaluate the potential application of partnering concept to promote collaborative working environment as a strategy to minimize the limitations of traditional project delivery system as practiced now in Saudi Arabia. The methodology that has been adopted for this study includes literature research, interview with expert panels and distribution of questionnaire survey. All the data has been collected from experts in the construction industry of Saudi Arabia, precisely at the holy city of Mecca. The outcome of this research indicates the importance of potential benefits that are brought by implementing this partnering, because partnering is found to have the potential to change the construction industry to work in a more cooperative and collaborative environment. The challenges of applying this approach have also been identified. Among them are very competitive environment among the industry players and domination of the traditional mindset. This study gives more insight to partnering strategies that can merge to solve many problems encountered when using traditional delivery methods in Saudi Arabia construction industry.