Project Management of Burj Khalifa

Running head: PROJECT MANAGEMENT OF BURJ KHALIFA
PROJECT MANAGEMENT OF BURJ KHALIFA
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PROJECT MANAGEMENT OF BURJ KHALIFA1
Introduction
In recent years, the world has seen profound advancement in technology and
innovation in the construction industry facilitating aspects like tourism and hospitality
(Zhang, Wu, Shen and Skitmore 2014). The Burj Khalifa is often seen as one of the
engineering and architectural wonders of the world having a towering height of 829.8 meters,
with 163 floors. Located in Dubai, the Burj Khalifa, previously recognized as Burj Dubai,
was inaugurated in the year 2010 and is worth more than 1.5 billion US dollars. The
ownership of the project belongs to Emaar Properties and is currently the tallest building
globally (Baker and Pawlikowski 2015). The magnanimity of the project entailed several
problems in terms of design and construction that were successfully overcome with excellent
use of resources and technology. This report therefore aims to analyze the aspects of
management in The Burj Khalifa Project.
Project objectives and proposed deliverables
The project of designing and construction of the tallest building in the world was
faced with several changes like financing, countering strong wind forces, completing project
within stipulated time, positioning cranes, planning efficient air conditioning, plumbing and
sewage systems. Such challenges were overcome successfully keeping in view several
objectives. The United Arab Emirates being one of the largest oil producing countries in the
world, has the capacity to invest in huge luxurious projects like Burj Dubai. The primary goal
of the project was to construct a milestone of innovation, ingenuity and architecture (Bazler
2017). The objectives of the project of Burj Khalifa included the facilitation of tourism,
hospitality, trade and finance in the country. Due to investments in technological
advancements, Dubai has become home to several innovative projects like the Burj Khalifa,
thereby attracting tourists from all over the world.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT OF BURJ KHALIFA2
The objectives of this project also included the expansion of profits in the field of
tourism through several proposed deliverables. These deliverables included joint residential,
hotel, leisure and entertainment outlets, water structures, green fields, commercial, pedestrian
avenues and a large shopping mall. The Burj Khalifa project also included certain major
deliverables like the Dubai Fountain costing over 217 million US dollars, an Observation
Deck located on the 124th floor and the Burj Khalifa Park watered from the cooling system of
the building (Al-Kodmany 2014). It was the responsibility of the engineers to ensure that the
various challenges of construction could be tackled successfully. For this purpose the
structural design of the Burj Khalifa incorporates a Y-shape to protect the building from the
strong forces of wind in the area. Moreover, the designing of the building is planned in a
unique and innovative manner allowing it to manage any potential risks (Velegrinis and
Katodrytis 2015).
Key stakeholders and expected benefits
The key stakeholders of any business project refer to the entities who are either
directly or indirectly associated with it, thereby determining its success. These stakeholders
can either be internal or external to the project or organization. The primary internal
stakeholder of the Burj Khalifa is Emaar Properties, which is the owner of the project (Gil-
Lafuente, Merigó and Vizuete 2014). Apart from this estate development company, other
major stakeholders include the workers, planners, developers, sixteen experts, and two
owners of the project. External stakeholders of the Burj Khalifa include the government,
large number of suppliers, three financial insights providers, three sub-contractors, the
present customers and forty consultants (Guo, Kwon and Kareem 2015). Some of the major
investors of the project apart from the government and Emaar Properties include, the
architects Skidmore Owings and Merrill and Hyder Consulting, the supervision consultant
and record architect.