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This paper aims to examine four key management processes, namely, communication, coordination, decision-making and knowledge-sharing, to determine how these impact on transportation infrastructure project success. The context for this study is the construction of a major highway in the United Arab Emirates.

Multiple sources of data are used in this case study that include the following: examination of various documents relating to the project in question; interviews with ten key stakeholders involved with the construction of the project; observations made during the site visit and interviews conducted with four site engineers; a focus group conducted with six key stakeholders involved in the project; and finally interviews conducted with the Minister of Public Works and the Director-General of the Ministry of Public Works. Analysis was conducted using NVivo.

Identification and involvement of key stakeholders, particularly in the early phases of a construction project, is found to be highly critical. Managers must develop detailed understanding of stakeholders’ influence in terms of their legitimacy, power and urgency in achieving effectiveness of the management processes.

The study highlights how different stakeholders influence communication, coordination, decision-making and knowledge-sharing at different stages of the construction project. Hence, understanding stakeholder’s level of legitimacy, power and urgency across the different stages of a project is highly critical.

The purpose of this paper is to present a framework to devise a system for ranking of traditional project delivery methods, regarding their suitability, against the varying levels of mega project attributes.

The proposed system employs input and output interfaces and a granular (fuzzy rule base) component for estimating the subjective levels of risks, opportunities, and constraints and then mapping them to a decision matrix. A questionnaire has been designed (using the SurveyGizmo® platform) to collect the perceptions of the various project stakeholders and use them. A total of 127 stakeholders completed the survey form in full.

The survey data were used to calibrate the fuzzy logic model of the granular component. The envisioned system computes, for each possible delivery method, an index that reflects the suitability (of the corresponding delivery method) on an ordinal scale.

The devised decision support system is likely to lessen the dependency of “accurate decision” on “the experience of the decision-makers.” It will also enable ranking the various project delivery methods based on the various project and stakeholder attributes that are likely to affect the project risks, opportunities and constraints.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the major management issues that impact on mega transportation infrastructure projects in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and identify the factors that cause unsuccessful project completions. The paper further seeks to identify the changes that can be made to improve project success.

This is a qualitative study that involved face‐to‐face interviews with 20 key experienced transportation construction stakeholders who had been involved in a number of different projects in the UAE. This was followed by a focus group discussion involving ten key stakeholders who had been involved in the construction of a mega project – the Dubai Fujairah Highway. Analysis of the interview data was conducted using NVivo.

The findings highlight the complexity involved in managing mega transportation infrastructure projects in the UAE. Multiple stakeholders (government agencies, sponsors/clients, management firms, consultants and contractors) influence the various stages of projects. The need for effective communication, coordination, knowledge sharing and decision making amongst the stakeholders, especially during the planning and design stages, is highlighted as critical.

The main limitation is the small numbers interviewed for each stakeholder group. Nevertheless, the sample of interviews provides a good representation of the transport infrastructure construction industry in the UAE.

Three major practical implications relate to: improving communication and coordination amongst government departments and key stakeholders to streamline effective knowledge sharing and decision making, leading to successful project outcomes; improving the skills and competencies of professional staff at all levels and subsequently delegating authority to lower levels; and the adoption of global international standards to improve planning, design and construction activities.

The paper describes the first study of its kind conducted in the UAE that provides valuable insights with respect to transportation infrastructure project management.