More than 95 per cent of projects in the GCC are delayed and 71 per cent are over budget, says David Clifton, regional development director, Faithful+Gould.

Many projects are facing severe delays and cost overruns. About 44 per cent are delayed by more than six months and 6 per cent of projects are more than 50 per cent over budget.

Early engagement with project management firms can mitigate these risks.

“Let’s be clear. Helping clients set realistic programmes is tough. We all understand the desire to complete as soon as possible,” says Clifton. “The fact is you don’t build an airport in one year. So be sensible. Early engagement can begin to show best practice and lessons learnt from other similar schemes.”

Clifton was speaking at a professional development seminar in Riyadh on 2 June hosted by Faithful+Gould in association with the Saudi Council of Engineers that focused on how early engagement of project and programme management can help a project get delivered within budget and on time.