A Fresh Approach to Construction

Modernizing a business takes ample inputs, time and cost and the need for these components intensifies when one approaches economic transformation. Stepping in this direction, Faisal Butt is facilitating long-term projects to improve the economy of Saudi Arabia. Initially developing the Red Sea Coastline, he is on a sustainable path to replace the inefficiencies of the present management systems with organized team structure and planning.

The Saudi Arabian Firm Setting New Standards in Responsible Development

The construction sector has often struggled to deliver responsible developments. Ineffective procurement practices, methodologies, tools, designs (which do not respond in their natural environments) and production challenges for low-carbon materials have held the industry back.

One country developing a reputation for bold approaches is Saudi Arabia. As part of its Vision 2030 program, an ambitious national strategy designed to diversify the economy and drive social transformation, the Kingdom is developing multiple giga-projects to attract international travelers. While building such large-scale projects in desert landscapes has been complex, the country is setting new standards.

Red Sea Global is a shining example of this. It is a multi-asset developer responsible for several luxury tourism destinations on the Red Sea coastline where I am fortunate enough to serve as group head of the technical project management office (TPMO). I have had the privilege to be at the center of building our destinations, including The Red Sea, which last year became the first Vision 2030 giga-project to welcome paying guests.

My experience shows that deploying a forward-thinking construction model and firmly embedding sustainability within the strategy, together with a proactive project management approach are essential to delivering responsible development and raising global standards.

An innovative delivery model

There are various issues with standard traditional construction models typically used in large-scale projects, especially where a single contractor delivers all the assets. If they experience financial difficulties, sudden leadership changes or other failures in delivery, this could lead to project milestones being missed.

At Red Sea Global, we recognized this early on, and have adopted a construction management model, which has not only kept us within planned timelines but has set new standards for delivering complex projects speedily and effectively. At its heart are innovative technologies and construction methods, combined with an ambitious mindset. This enabled us to overcome the challenges of building in remote environments without existing infrastructure.

For example, we did not put all our eggs in one basket with a single contractor at Red Sea Global. Instead, we broke down different assets into several packages, which helped to reduce risks associated with the construction schedule. We also ensured that most contractors used were Saudi, aligning with our commitment to help grow the Kingdom’s GDP. While this was a more complicated approach, it was worth it in the long term, as we eliminated the disadvantages of using a single contractor. This has enabled us to fast-track our developments in a market where the modern construction industry is still in its infancy.   

Upskilling our team

We were also keen to draw on expertise within our organization, ensuring that the developments unfolded as per the Vision of the country, which is more difficult to achieve through third parties.

Throughout the process, we have operated as an active TPMO across design, construction, and planning. Instead of relying mostly on project management consultants and officers (PMCs and PMOs), we built and strengthened our in-house construction management capabilities. During this, we encountered challenges with our in-house approach. It required significant investment in training and developing the internal team, which meant higher upfront costs and resource allocation. However, this gave us greater quality control and better adherence to project timelines and budgets.

“My experience shows that deploying a forward-thinking construction model and firmly embedding sustainability within the strategy, together with a proactive project management approach is essential to delivering responsible development and raising global standards,”   

Our team of around 400 within the PMO team deeply cares about the successful delivery of development. They share the goals that Red Sea Global has embarked on, and more importantly, they truly believe in Vision 2030. To say, “We have skin in the game”!

Setting new sustainability standards

From the outset, our ambition was to enhance, not just protect, natural habitats and local communities, delivering a 30% net conservation benefit by 2040. To achieve this, we knew that sustainability couldn’t be an afterthought.

At The Red Sea, we worked closely with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology to conduct a marine spatial planning simulation, carefully analyzing the flora and fauna around the destination. This led us to develop only 22 of the 90 islands and designate nine as special conservation zones. This new, intelligence-led approach to construction planning has set new standards in the field.

We are also powering The Red Sea with solar farms using an impressive 970,000 photovoltaic panels, constructing the world’s largest off-grid battery storage facility to support this. We will be replicating the same approach for AMAALA, which is set to open its doors next year.

Embedding sustainability in our strategy has produced other achievements - limiting water waste, minimizing the amount of on-site construction, and ramping up the amount of off-site modularization. Furthermore, we have managed to construct a completely off-grid utility network.

Growing urgency

The point of using a more challenging but effective construction approach is not just to efficiently build iconic, sustainable assets, but to increase and enhance the skills of the local workforce, drive the local economy and improve the supply chain.

When one considers the perilous state of our planet and the fact that the buildings and construction sector is by far the largest emitter of greenhouse gases - accounting for a staggering 37% of global emissions - the sense of urgency to change is enormous.

We are certainly achieving this in Saudi Arabia, where the transformation within the construction sector is just one of many within our society. I hope our achievements on the Red Sea coastline will inspire others in the construction sector to follow our lead, applying responsible development principles to their projects.