assistant professor dr. aurangzeb zulfiqar khan department of management sciences, comsats institute...

Assistant Professor Dr. Aurangzeb Zulfiqar KhanDepartment of Management Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan 1

The Parameters of Projects


All projects undertaken by organizations in the corporate, public and non-governmental sector are in response to an internal or exter-nal customer‘s or user‘s need, or in order to exploit an opportunity. Sometimes projects are done in order to conform to some statu-tory requirement.

Examples of projects undertaken to satisfy an internal need or opportunity include introduc-tion of an Enterprise Resource Planning System in a large corporation, training of a company‘s employees in Total Quality Management and expansion of a plant‘s manufacturing capacity.

Project Parameters: Needs, Opportunities, Requirements


Examples of projects undertaken to satisfy an external need or opportunity include the development of a new product or service, and contract work for a building construction project.

Examples of projects undertaken to conform to statutory requirements include installation of a filter to reduce the firm‘s pollution emission levels and remodelling a worker hostel as a precautionary measure against fire hazard.

Project Parameters: Needs, Opportunities, Requirements


Why Are Projects Undertaken?(Example: Compliance with Laws and Regulations)

Projects are sometimes undertaken in order

to comply with legal requirements.

For example, a new law or regulation

requiring that factories immediately reduce

their pollution emission levels may compel

these factories to undertake projects which

are aimed at bringing about structural and

process modifications. Similarly, a law or

regulation requiring that student hostels

reduce the risk of fire hazard would

necessitate projects aimed at complying

with these.


Relating Needs to Projects(Example: The Higher Education Sector in Pakistan)

Pakistan‘s National Economic Development (there is an acknowledged need, inter alia, for highly skilled engineers)

Federal Policy and Planning Framework

Improve ExistingInfrastructure

Develop Human Resources

Primary Secondary Tertiary Vocational

Colleges Universities

Establish New Universities Upgrade Existing Universities

Institutional & Re-gulatory Reforms

Projects to establish „Engineer-ing Universities“ of international standard in Pakistan in coopera-

tion with leading Austrian, Chinese, French, German, Italian

and Swedish universities

Projects to establish „Engineer-ing Universities“ of international standard in Pakistan in coopera-

tion with leading Austrian, Chinese, French, German, Italian

and Swedish universities

Acquisition of advan-ced technical skills &

competency in the designated priority

fields with emphasis on quality education

Acquisition of advan-ced technical skills &

competency in the designated priority

fields with emphasis on quality education

OtherFields

Long-termenvisaged

impact

Long-termenvisaged

impact


All projects have one prime goal – for e.g., the development of a new camera, con-struction of a railway station, regeneration of a derelict neighbourhood, or process re-engineering for a large organization.

The goal must be as specific as possible so that there is no ambiguity about what the project intends to achieve. In addi-tion to the prime goal, projects may have subgoals and sub-sidiary goals (objectives). The project goal and project deliverables along with all the requirements and specifica-tions, which must be met by the project for it to be consider-ed complete, determine the project‘s scope. A project which does not achieve its goal is seen as failed.

Project Parameters: Goal


Project Parameters: Goal(Important Topics)

Project Proposal

Project Contract

Project Charter

Elicitation of Project Requirements and Specifications

Project Statement of Work

Project Scope Statement

Project Work Breakdown Structure

Scope Creep, Control and Verification

Project Change Management

Project Integration Management


Project Output & Outcome: Highway Example

Project Phase

Operations Phase

Project Life-Cycle

Initiation, Planning, Implementation and

Closure of the Project

Project Output

SelectedProject

Outcomes

(+ and -)

Short-term

Medium-term

Long-term

Economic – Impact on investment, trade, local businesses, tourism, employment, inflation, wealth accumulation and distribution

Social – Impact on services like health and education, travel, crime, social relations, communities‘ out-

look and values

Environmental – Impact on fauna and flora, pollution levels, waste

accumulation and disposal

Projects: Highway extension, widening, recarpeting, con-struction of bridges, additional exit and entrance ramps, petrol stations and rest stops etc.

Not Projects: Routine main-tenance & repair


Project Parameters: Cost

All projects necessarily incur a cost because they consume resources. There can be a multitude of cost items which are incurred on projects, some of which are regular, others periodic, and others non-recurring (i.e. which are incurred usually once in the course of the project life-cycle) in nature.

Estimating the cost of a complex project with a high degree of accuracy can be quite difficult in its early stages due to a paucity of information. Project Management offers several methods for estimating a project‘s cost. However, cost over-runs are common on projects and are considered a manifes-tation of project failure.


Land acquisition Establishment of project

and furnishing site office Recruitment, selection and

training of key project staff Procurement of hardware,

software and other technical equipment for project

Consultancy Special project audit Licenses and permits from

officials concerned

Salaries of project staff Rent for project facilities Operating expenses (incl.

utilities) Travelling and meetings Project inputs and raw

material being supplied on regular basis

General administrative and miscellaneous

Project Parameters: Cost(Examples of Non-Recurring & Regularly Recurring Costs)

Usually Non-Recurring Usually Regularly Recurring


Project Parameters: Cost(Important Topics in Project Cost Management)

Categorization of Project Cost Items

Top-Down Project Cost Estimation Methods

Bottom-Up Project Cost Estimation Methods

Deterministic / Probabilistic Project Cost Forecasting

Project Cost Baseline

Synchronization of payments due with release of funds

Earned Value Method


The project life-span can range from very short - for e.g., one week for recataloguing books in a public library - to very long, for e.g., eight years for the construction of a large dam with attached electric power generating station.

As with cost, it is often difficult to determine the life-span of a project with a high level of accuracy, especially in the pro-ject‘s early stages. Schedule overruns are common in pro-jects and, like cost overruns, they too are also considered a manifestation of project failure.

All projects have a life span, namely, the inter-val between the point in time the project for-mally commences and the point in time when it is completed or prematurely terminated.

Project Parameters: Time


Project Parameters: Time(Important Topics in Project Time Management)

Project Activities Dependency Relationships Between Project Activities Project Activity Duration Estimation Project Milestones Project Schedule Baseline Project Gantt Charts Network Diagrammes (Arrow-on-Arrow, Arrow-on-Node) Critical Path Method Programme Evaluation Review Technique “Crashing“ the Project Earned Value Method Time Management Training for Project Staff


All projects are unique! No two projects are completely alike – even if they have the same goal and scope, same life-span and allocated budget, and same project manager and team.

Every project will always differ in some respect, however small, from another similar project, for e.g., in the project‘s location, incurred cost and time, in the manner in which it was managed, planned and implemented and the metho-dology which was applied to it, in the project stakeholders and the frequency and intensity of interaction with them over the project life-cycle, in the risks, issues and problems which surfaced in the course of the project life-cycle, and so forth.

Project Parameters: Uniqueness


What Projects Are Not

Projects must not be confused with an organization‘s on-going and recurring operations. For example:

- Customer invoicing and billing

- Fabrication or assembly of automobiles

- Routine procurement of agricultural inputs for a brewery

- Airline flights

- Advising a bank client of stock market investment opportunities

- Treatment of patients in a hospital emergency ward, and

- Counselling of soldiers on a tour of wartime duty

are not projects even though they may exhibit project characteris-tics (goal, time-frame, cost).


Simple, Complex and Impossible Projects


Project Complexity Examples of „Simple Projects“

Research Papers

Tree Planting Campaigns

Relief Collections

Preparing for Examinations

Relocating

Weddings

Painting

Parties


Project Complexity Examples of „Complex Projects“

Bridges

Ocean Liners

Commercial Aircraft

Olympic Games

Nuclear Power Stations

Man on the Moon

Dams

Skyscrapers


Project Complexity Examples of „Complex Projects“

Highways

Airports

TransnationalOil & Gas Pipelines

Weapon Systems

Large Factories

Power Grids

Software

Movie Blockbuster


Impossible Projects – Some Examples

Construct a Teleportation System

Invent a Time Travel Machine

Design a Spaceship for Intergalactic Travel

Make a Machine to turn Water to Wine

Create the Pill of Immortality


The level of sophistication of technology and depth

of knowledge determine, among other factors, the

„possibility“ of „impossibility“ of projects. Some

projects which were deemed impossible in the past –

such as NASA‘s moon mission – have become

possible in our time.

And although the projects in the previous slide may

be „impossible“ to achieve now given our present-

day technology and knowledge, they may certainly

„become possible“ in the coming years and decades

as science advances.

On „Possibility“ & „Impossibility“ of Projects


Projects and the Phenomena of Change

Change can also have an enormous and long-lasting impact on the economies, societies, politics and environment of countries, regions, continents and even the whole world.

Projects go hand in hand with change. Change may have a profound effect on organizations – irrespective of whether they are in the private, public or non-governmental sector.


Typical Attributes of Complex Projects

Broad scope, large number of delivera-bles, complex and changing require-ments & specifications

Long life-span & highly capital-intensive with involvement of lending institutions and venture capitalists

Human resource, information and technology-intensive

Substantial specialization, expertise and experience needed from project team

Sophisticated project management methodology needed

Thorough project planning, a well-structured project organization and clear delineation of roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders is a prerequisite for success

Numerous stakeholders (some supportive, others adversarial) and need for extensive communication and coordination

High levels of risk and uncertainty

Quality considerations have high priority

Constant monitoring and evaluation along with application of controlling measures indispensable

Flexibility to adapt to changing situations and priorities

Formation of international consortiums and cultural management considerations

High potential for conflict

Strong leadership skills required of project manager and motivation and tenacity of the project team

Large net of suppliers, vendors and contractors

Political and social pressures

Bureaucratic hassles

Anticipated and unanticipated Issues


Major Projects in History


Projects in Historical Context

Projects are presumably as old as mankind itself. Even the cavemen could be considered

as „project planners and implementers“ of sorts.

Great civilizations have come and gone over the millenia but the imposing structures they

left behind for posterity will always instill in us a permanent sense of awe.

Projects in antiquity, and later in the medieval period tended, by and large, to be architectural

in nature.


Projects in Historical Context

Projects in the contemporary age are much more complex, diverse in nature, and resource-

intensive than they were in olden times.

Possible Reasons: The industrial revolution, the relentless advance of science and technology,

the knowledge explosion and consequent diversification and specialization of skills, vast resource availability, consumerism, orientation towards development and the emergence of

management as a way of getting things done.


Management has been excercised in the planning and implementation of complex project undertakings for thousands of years. A comparison with modern project management is not possible as few and incomplete records exists of the project management methodologies which were used in ancient times.

The fact that structures like the pyramids and Sphinx of Egypt and the Roman Aqueducts in western Europe have withstood the passage of centuries to this day is a testimony to the design, engineering and project management skills of ancient civilizations.

Origins of Project Management


The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World


The Medieval European Cathedrals

The great “gothic” cathedrals of Europe are architectural masterpieces whose ornate presences have graced ancient town - and cityscapes in Austria, Belgium, England, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland since they started appearing in the 12th century.

Construction of, and extension work on, these massive edifices continued often over decades and even centuries. Generations of architects, craftsmen and masons worked tirelessly on erecting these cathedrals, whose towers dwarfed all other structures in their day.

Their vaulted ceilings, massive columns, imposing portals, myriad statues, splendid stained glass windows and other impressive features aptly testify to the determination and ingenuity of yesteryears Europeans.


The Muslims

For over one thousand years the lands of the Muslims have spawned a cornucopia of cultural treasures.

From the fertile provinces of Spain to the verdant Indonesian archipeligo, and from the windy steppes of Central Asia to the scorching hot desert of North Africa, the graceful domes and soaring minarets of the mosques, magnificent palaces, enchanting gardens, imposing forts, majestic marble tombs and mausoleums, and colourful arabesque decorative artwork have inspired countless millions for genera-tions. Without them our world would culturally be a much poorer place.

An interesting feature of Muslim architecture is its reflection of the influence of different styles which, in turn, reflect the distinctive traditions and subcultures prevalent across the Ummah.


The Aztecs, Incas and Mayas

The vast stretch of land from Northern Mexico to the southern reaches of Chile was once home to three great civilizations – the Aztecs, Incas and Mayas.

Cities which once counted amongst the largest of their day, a plethora of pagan deities, divine absolutist monarchs, dread-inspiring Priests presiding over sacrificial alters splashed crimson with the blood of human victims, colourful feather-studded costumes, fearsome warriors and merciless wars of conquest and subjugation, and a huge repository of arcane knowledge are their legacy – as are the monumental pyramid-shaped structures and other great buildings which have withstood the ravages of time and attract hordes of tourists every year.


The Romans

Rome – eternal city and power hub of the ancient world’s mightiest Empire. Spread over three continents, ancient Rome was feared for its conquests, brutality and sub-jugation – and held in awe for its artistic accomplishments, superb urban planning and unrivalled engineering prowess. Rome’s legal, political and administrative systems have significantly influenced its modern-day western counterparts.

1500 years after its collapse, Rome‘s legacy lives on. The remains of its roads, imposing fortresses, walls, bridges, aquaducts and archways, its famous public baths, libraries and amphiteatres, its luxurious villas and gardens, its simple garrison stations, and its splendid temples, palaces and cities dot a vast area around the Mediterranean Sea.


The Hindus

In the second and first millenia B.C., contin-uous treks of Aryan migrants from Central Asia, Afghanistan and Iran settled in North-ern and North-West India. With them, the great religion of Hinduism gradually evolved.

Hinduism is perhaps the most complex of all religions. It has no single founder, encom-passes many schools of thought and trad-itions, is based on a colossal set of scrip-tures, is polytheistic and has a complex pattern of social relationships and rituals.

Hindus have made major contributions to art and science. Their architectural edifices are perhaps the most visible and enduring sym-bol of their ancient legacy and grace a vast swath of land extending from modern-day Pakistan deep into South-East Asia.


The Ancient Egyptians

As the world’s oldest civilization, ancient Egypt has fascinated and mystified mankind for thousands of years down to the con-temporary age.

Famed for its wealth, efficient administra-tion and Nile irrigation system, vast accumu-lation of knowledge, and ruled for thousands of years by generations of Pharaos who en-joyed god-like status over their minions, ancient Egypt was for a long time the super-power of the ancient world.

Ancient Egypt‘s heritage is the prime focus of interest for tens of thousands of curious foreign visitors who flock to Egypt every year to behold the multitude of well preser-ved monumental columned and hierograph-ed temples, palaces and pyramidal graves.


The Ancient Chinese

China –Kingdom of the Middle and land that for centuries attracted the interest, awe and envy of much of the world. Known for the splendour of its imperial courts, its tea, spices, silk, wisdom, numerous inventions and generally for the finer things of life, China evolved one of the richest cultures.

The Chinese were great builders and left behind myriad magnificent edifices for pos-terity. The Great Wall of China which snakes its way across thousands of miles of inhos-pitable mountainous terrain remains unsur-passed in extent and power as does the Forbidden City in Beijing in its grandeur. Colourful palaces, temples, pagodas, mau-soleums and other structures testify to the ingenuity of the ancient Chinese whose urban centers were the largest in the world.


Project Management, as we are familiar with it today, is a comparatively recent addition to management science.

Project Management arose out of the need to effectively and efficiently manage very large and complex projects for which the conventional management approach was considered inadequate.

Project Management tools and techniques were first systematically applied by the United States Department of Defence.

Origins of “Modern” Project Management


Major Projects in the Contemporary Age

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How Important are Projects?

Projects are the building blocks of the myriad achievements in the architectural, artistic, economic, scientific, technological,

and in many other fields which characterize our human civilization

Life, with all the comforts and niceties as we know it today, would not be

possible without projects!


Projects in the Contemporary Age(Example: Buildings)

Every building in the world from the crudest garden shed to the ritzy glitzy cloud-piercing behemoths constructed from steel, concrete and glass that shape cityscapes across the globe started their existence as projects.

Buildings are the most ubiquitous symbols of projects on our planet. They serve many fun-ctions– for example, residential, work, offi-cial, educational, cultural, medical, industrial, shopping, recreational and religious.

Building are constantly getting taller and out-landish in their appearance as cities are ra-cing to compete with each other in the battle of superlatives.


Every nation needs a robust, well-conceived

and maintained, and expanding physical

infrastructure in order to grow and prosper.

The entire stock of a country‘s physical

infrastructure is based on projects. For

example, dams, irrigation systems,

electricity generating stations and

transmission systems, airports, seaports,

railway and highway systems, bridges and

tunnels, shipping canals, factories, buildings

and urban development all started their

existence as projects. Subsequent modifi-

cation or expansion work on them is also

done through projects.

Projects in the Contemporary Age(Example: Civil Infrastructure)


Projects in the Contemporary Age(Example: Electricity Generation)

Can anyone imagine life without electricity? For our contemporaries who takes this ubiquitous source of energy for granted, the notion would be hard to swallow! After all, we use it to power our electrical appliances at home and in our workplaces, to run the machines in our factories, to light up our homes, streets and cities, and so forth. Without electricity a modern economy would grind to an abrupt halt.

Vast sums are being spent annually world-wide on projects for building thermal, hydro and nuclear power stations and the requisite transmission infrastructure for distributing the electricity produced in these stations.


Projects in the Contemporary Age(Example: Electricity from Renewable Sources)

Electricity is, without a shred of doubt, indis-pensable for modern societies. But it also comes at a high price, not only in monetary terms but also in terms of the permanent depletion of limited natural resources and the adverse impact which the „conventional“ electricity generating stations have on our physical environment.

For years interest has been steadily growing in tapping alternative or „renewable“ sources of generating electricity, namely, solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and tidal, which do not exhibit the drawbacks of their conventional counterparts. However, the overall share of renewable energy is comparatively small.


Projects in the Contemporary Age(Example: Crude Oil)

Crude Oil –The world‘s „Black Gold“ and precious natural resource that keeps the global economy functioning – as well as our motor vehicles. It is the source of the inesti-mable wealth of degenerate Arab Princes and powerful oil companies and the propeller of the Middle East‘s economic bonanza.

Governments and the corporate sector have invested vast sums in on- and off-shore oil exploration and extraction projects, and to develop the requisite processing and distribu-tion infrastructure, such as petroleum refine-ries, storage containers, tankers and pipe-lines, some of which carry oil across national borders over thousands of miles.


Projects in the Contemporary Age(Example: Natural Gas)

Natural Gas, like crude oil, is a hydrocarbon and is important – though on a comparatively lessor scale - for keeping the global economy functioning. Natural gas is used, inter alia, to generate electricity in thermal power sta-tions, as an industrial input and for heating homes and offices in winter. Compared to crude oil, natural gas is considered an „environmentally-friendly“source of energy.

As with oil, vast sums have been invested over time in projects for on- and off-shore natural gas exploration and extraction, for developing processing facilities and for trans-porting natural gas through pipelines, some of which are also thousands of miles long.


Projects in the Contemporary Age(Example: Roads)

All of us travel down two roads – the bumpy road of life, and the asphalted roads criss-crossing our planet through its plains, de-serts, forests and hilly and mountainous terains, connecting our villages, towns and cities and other places.

Constructed since ancient times, roads serve as the prime guarantor for the mobility not only for the individuals travelling on them but also for ideas, knowledge, innovations, trade and commerce. The advent of the automobile and colossal investment in road construction and expansion projects across the globe over the past 100 years has assured man mobility on a scale never seen before.


Projects in the Contemporary Age(Example: Bridges)

Few of us who have travelled on roads or on rail tracks would not have crossed a bridge at some point in time.

Bridges are an integral part of the road and rail system and are usually constructed at critical points along the route, such as rivers, bays, gorges and narrow valleys, where con-tinuity of the road or rail tracks is not feasi-ble or desirable.

Building bridges can be a challenging under-taking for civil engineers and requires a high degree of skill and precision to minimize the risk of collapse. In recent years a number of bridge megaprojects have been completed around the world.


Projects in the Contemporary Age(Example: Tunnels)

Tunnels – like bridges - are an integral part of the road and rail system and most of us would have driven through a tunnel at some point in time.

Unlike bridges, which are erected to enable traffic over otherwise impassable terrain, tunnels are constructed to enable traffic to pass through big obstacles such as hills and mountains. Tunnels form the basis for the sewage and subway systems which have been constructed in many cities. For civil en-gineers, tunnel construction projects present complex challenges for too.

The most famous tunnel is the one under the English Channel linking the UK with France.


Projects in the Contemporary Age(Example: Airports)

Airports – they are the gateways for quick, cheap and convenient travel and transport to destinations within countries, regions, con-tinents and the whole world.

Whether for business or pleasure, for study-ing, emigrating, visiting family and friends, or for myriad other reasons, people are taking to the skies in ever increasing num-bers. Airports service hundreds of millions of passengers and hundreds of millions of tonnes of freight every year. All over the world, huge investments are being made in projects for constructing new („greenfield“) airports or forn upgrading and modernizing existing airports.


An enormous number of projects are being

undertaken by all types of organizations in

the field of information and communication

technology.

We live in the „digital age“ where for years

the focus of interest is shifting towards the

„knowledge economy“. Information on a

scale hitherto unimaginable is being stored

and processed in, and being transferred from,

vast corporate and government com-puter

databases. Without ICT, economic growth

and prosperity would not be possible on the

scale which we have grown accustom-ed to.

Projects in the Contemporary Age(Example: Information & Communications Technology )


Projects in the Contemporary Age(Example: Mines)

Our planet is endowed with diverse natural resources in vast quantities. Yet it does not give up its treasures easily – considerable ef-fort and cost is needed to access them from under the surface.

For thousands of years, man has used the technique of mining to extract the Earth‘s re-sources. Over time the tools used to develop mines evolved from crude implements to sophisticated and massive drilling and exca-vation machinery. The economic prosperity of many countries depends on mine products which include precious/semi-precious metals and stones besides copper, iron, salt and uranium and other „less precious“ products.


Projects in the Contemporary Age(Example: Factories)

Factories are the places where production inputs are transformed into outputs. They are a pillar of the global economy and responsi-ble for much of the value creation that goes with it.

Factories come in all shapes and sizes. Pro-ducts like aircraft, automobiles, bricks, capi-tal goods, cement, chemicals, components, consumer electronics, foods and beverages, machinery, office supplies, paper, pharma-ceuticals, IT-Hardware, shoes, steel, textiles, and weapons are all produced in factories.

Every factory starts initially as a project until its completion and commencement of pro-duction (i.e. operations phase).


Projects in the Contemporary Age(Example: Weapons)

Since man walked the earth he is in a perpe-tual state of conflict with his species. Wars, within and between states, some lasting years and even decades, have been (and are being) fought and countless millions have perished in a frenzied orgy of violence which has overshadowed the course of our history.

Todays weapons have evolved into a level of technological sophistication and devastative power on a scale never witnessed before. Billions of monies are spent every year in the research centres and labs of weapon manu-facturers in the USA, Europe and Asia on pro-jects for developing new, even more potent tools of death.


Projects in the Contemporary Age(Example: Law Enforcement)

Effective Law Enforcement is the requirement of any civilized society.

The practical responsibility for maintaining law and order in a country lies primarily with its police forces. Law enforcement projects encompass many fields, notably information management, forensics, development of ad-vanced communication systems, and major event security. Due to the sensitivity of law enforcement work, many of its projects are subject to intense public scrutiny.

Examples: The Interpol Database, Schengen Information System, AFIS, and establishment of state-of-the-art forensic laboratories.


A nation‘s social development would be in-

conceivable without projects. This is a field

dominated by the public-sector and non-

governmental organizations.

For example, the provision of universal

primary and secondary education, creation of

medical facilities and schemes in remote

rural areas to create awareness about

disease prevention, provision of sanitation

and clean drinking water, promotion of gen-

der empowerment, creation of institutions for

providing microcredits for generating income

and employment for the impoverished are all

the result of projects.

Projects in the Contemporary Age(Example: Social Development)


Projects in the Contemporary Age(Example: Education)

Managers like to assert that human resources are an organization‘s most valuable resource. Likewise, it seems reasonable to assert that an educated and technically skilled popula-tion is a society‘s most valuable resource. The fact that countries with few natural re-sources like Japan, Germany, South Korea and Singapore count among the world‘s most prosperous aptly illustrates the point.

The education sector offers many opportuni-ties for projects. Construction of new primary and secondary schools, vocational training centres and universities is a case in point as are projects for expanding and improving existing facilities and the quality of teaching.


Projects in the Contemporary Age(Example: Health)

Good health is the most precious thing any human being can have. All the wealth in the world can offer no solace if a person suffers from acute and chronic ailments.

Huge sums are being invested in health pro-jects. New clinics, dispensaries, hospitals, and rehabilitation centers are being con-structed. Specialized and highly sophisti-cated machines for medical diagnostic and operative purposes are being developed and introduced. In research laboratories across the globe, medical researchers are hard at work searching for cures for a host of disea-ses and trying to devise new, more effective techniques of treatment.


Projects in the Contemporary Age(Example: New Product Development)

We live in the age of consumerism. As indivi-duals we constantly want access to a larger, better and cheaper spectrum of products and services. The sky is the limit as far as our demands are concerned.

The development of all new products is typi-cally a project-based undertaking. It starts with the recognition of a market demand for new items – for example, for a sweeter, frothy non-alcoholic beverage or a sleek, sexy hand-held high-definition digital cam-corder which doubles up as a camera. As the product life-cycle decreases, companies are coming under increasing pressure to inno-vate and outperform the competition.


Relief and rehabilitation projects are undertaken

in response to emergencies or crisis situations

occurring periodically across the globe, caused

by nature (for e.g. earthquakes, floods, torna-

does, hurricanes, cyclones, avalanches, land-

slides, volcanic eruptions, famines caused by

drought, epidemics and pandemics) or by man

(for e.g. civil strife and transnational wars).

Projects of this nature are quite difficult, are

initiated usually at very short notice, can be

dangerous and are emotionally distressing for

both the project staff and beneficiaries. More-

over, the task of coordinating with the officials of

host countries and other stakeholders poses

numerous challenges.

Projects in the Contemporary Age(Example: Crisis Situations)


Processes are frequently the focus of pro-

jects.

Processes determine in large measure the

effectiveness and efficiency of the operations

of organizations in the private, public and

non-governmental sectors.

Often, organizations discover that there is a

need for them to modify, optimize, redesign

or completely reeengineer their existing pro-

cess assets with the help of projects in order

to ensure their competiveness, growth or

survival.

Projects in the Contemporary Age(Example: Processes)


Major Projects in Pakistan (Examples)

Tarbela Dam Mangla Dam Ghazi-Barotha HUBCO Kot Addu Chashma Nuclear Power Station Islamabad-Lahore Motorway Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway Karakorum Highway Jinnah International Airport Allama Iqbal International Airport Muslim Commercial Bank National Stadium Karachi Shah Faisal Mosque Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital JF-17 Sino-Pakistan Combat Aircraft


Mangla Dam

Mangla Dam in Azad Jammu Kashmir is the world’s twelfth largest dam. One of the two major dam projects based on the Indus Basin Treaty of 1960, construction of this dam was completed in 1967 across the Jhelum River with a loan from the World Bank. It is located about 160 kilometres south-east of Islamabad.

The Mangla Dam serves two major objectives: (1) increasing the availability of water from the Jhelum River for irrigation and (2) generating electricity. Main structures include 4 embankment dams, 2 spillways, 5 power-cum-irrigation tunnels and a power station.

The Mangla Dam is 10,300 feet (3140 m) long and 454 feet (138 m) high (above core trench) with a reservoir of 97.7 square miles (253 km²). Tens of thousands of persons were displaced in consequence of the dam’s construction and scores of settlements flooded.

Due to sedimentation losses of approx. 20%, a project to raise the level of the Mangla Dam by about 30 feet was initiated in 2004. Expected to be completed in mid-2007, the project will cost approx. 62 billion Rupees.


Chashma Nuclear Power Complex

Located at Kundial in Punjab province, the Chashma Nuclear Power Plant (CHASNUPP) comprises one existing nuclear power station. An additional facility is presently under construction.

CHASNUPP is Pakistan’s second nuclear power generation plant after the Canadian-designed KANUPP in Karachi.

Based on Chinese technology and using the pressurized water system design, construction on the 300 MW CHASNUPP-1 commenced in 1993 and it was connected to the national power grid on 14th June 2000.

In 2004, an agreement between China and Pakistan was signed to set up a second 300 MW nuclear power generation facility (CHASNUPP-2) adjacent to CHASNUPP-1.

The project cost of CHASNUPP-2 is estimated at US Dollars 600 million and the plant is expected to become operational in 2010.


Islamabad-Lahore Motorway

Constructed by a consortium led by the South Korean Daewoo company over the period 1992 – 97 at an estimated cost of around Rs. 30 billion, the Islamabad-Lahore Motorway was a massive project involving 3 major river bridges, 8 interchanges, 27 flyovers, 17 bridges on canal, 39 bridges on drains and 4 overhead railway crossing, 183 subways and cattle creeps, 22 culverts on canals and 73 culverts on drains.

Daily traffic capacity on the 338 kilometer long motorway was estimated at 8,000 to 12,000 vehicles per day. Speed is limited to 120 kilometers per hour.


Karakorum Highway

The Karakorum Highway is the highest asphalted road in the world. Also called the friendship highway, it was constructed as a Sino-Pakistan partnership venture.

The highway was commissioned in 1986 after 20 years of construction work and runs about 1300 kilometers from Havelian near Islamabad, passes through the Khunjerab Pass at the Chinese-Pakistan border (4800 meters) and ends at Kashgar in China’s Xinjiang province.

More than 800 Pakistani and 50 Chinese workers died in the construction effort.

A project to expand the breadth of the highway was signed by the Governments of Pakistan and China in 2006.


Jinnah International Airport, Karachi

The largest domestic and international airport Pakistan, Jinnah International Airport in Karachi has a passenger capacity handling of 12 million per annum, of which about 6 million are presently being serviced. It has 16 passenger gates and can service 30 planes at the same time. The airport is used by a large number of foreign airlines and it is the hub of the Pakistan International Airlines and several domestic airlines.


Shah Faisal Mosque

Shah Faisal Mosque in Islamabad is one of the largest mosques in the world.

Proposed by Saudi Arabia’s late King Faisal during a state visit to Islamabad in 1966, and designed by a Turkish architect, construction on the mosque lasted from 1976 to 1988 and cost approx. US Dollars 120 million which was paid by Saudi Arabia.

The architecturally imposing mosque, which is Islamabad’s main landmark, has an area of about 5,000 square meters and can accommodate up to 100,000 persons on its premises, initially housed the International Islamic University.


Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital

The Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Lahore is the brainchild of Pakistani politician and philanthropist Imran Khan after whose deceased mother the complex is named. The first facility dedicated to cancer treatment in Pakistan, its mission is to provide best possible care to cancer patients and those patients who cannot financially afford treatment.

The hospital provides free medical treatment to most of its patients and is financed largely from donations in and outside Pakistan. Since 1994, tens of thousands of cancer patients have been treated at the hospital.

Construction of the state-of-the-art hospital commenced in 1991 and it was opened on 29th December 1994. The project cost was about US Dollars 24 million. A massive fundraising campaign was launched in Pakistan and throughout the world.


Major Projects in Pakistan(under consideration or in planning)

Basha Dam Kalabagh Dam Islamabad International Airport Turkmenistan to Pakistan/India gas

Pipeline Iran to Pakistan Gas Pipeline Universities of Engineering, Science

and Technology

assistant professor dr. aurangzeb zulfiqar khan department of management sciences, comsats institute...

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