A case study of Burj Khalifa construction, using the PMP approach. please don't hesitate about leaving your comments.

1. BURJ KHALIFACONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT STUDY CASE
Khaled Al shami

2. SUMMARY ABOUT THE PROJECT :
Dubai tower, is the tallest skyscraper in the world with height of
828m, its consisted of 164 stories in total. its construction was 6 years
long and it started on September 2004 and was accomplished in
October 2009. The tower includes residential units, offices, hotels
and residential apartments. The project was planned by Dubai’s
government with the purpose of becoming a hub for finance, trade
and tourism in the Middle East. Also, because of Dubai’s
government decision to diversity from oil based economy to service
and tourism economy.

3. PROJECT STAGES AND MILESTONES:
 January 2004: Excavation commences.
 February 2004: Piling starts.
 21-September 2004: Emaar contractors begin construction.
 March 2005: Structure of Burj Khalifa starts rising.
 June 2006: Level 50 is reached.

4. PROJECT STAGES AND MILESTONES:
 February 2007: Surpasses the Sears Tower as the building with the most floors.
 13-May 2007: Sets record for vertical concrete pumping on any building at
452 m , surpassing the 449.2 m to which concrete was pumped during the
construction of Taipei 101, while Burj Khalifa reached the 130th floor.
 21-July 2007: Surpasses Taipei 101, whose height of 509.2 m made it the
world's tallest building, and level 141 reached.
 12-August 2007: Surpasses the Sears Tower antenna, which stands 527.3 m.
 12-September 2007: At 555.3 m, becomes the world's tallest freestanding
structure, surpassing the CN Tower in Toronto, and level 150 reached.

5. PROJECT STAGES AND MILESTONES:
 7-April 2008: At 629 m, surpasses the KVLY-TV Mast to become the
tallest man-made structure, level 160 reached.
 17-June 2008: Emaar announces that Burj Khalifa's height is over 636
m, and that its final height will not be given until it is completed in
September 2009.
 1-September 2008: Height tops 688 m, making it the tallest man-
made structure ever built, surpassing the previous record-holder, the
Warsaw Radio Mast in Konstantynów, Poland.
 17-January 2009: Topped out at 829.8 m.
 1-October 2009: Emaar announces that the exterior of the building is
completed.

6. PROJECT STAGES AND MILESTONES:
 4-January 2010: Burj Khalifa's official launch ceremony is held and
Burj Khalifa is opened. Burj Dubai renamed Burj Khalifa in honor of
the President of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa
bin Zayed al Nahyan.
 10-March 2010 Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
(CTBUH) certifies Burj Khalifa as world's tallest building.

7. Time table for the project stages:

8. GANTT CHART FOR THE PROJECT:

9. PROJECT TYPE AND CONTRACTING :
Client | Emaar Properties PJSC Actual Value: 1.5bn USD
Burj Dubai & Downtown Dubai Development
Contractors | Main Contractor: Samsung Engineering & Construction
Main Contractor: BESIX
Main Contractor: Arabtec Construction L.L.C.
Consultants | Main Consultant: Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) (Architect Consultant)
Main Consultant: Turner Construction Company (Project Manager)
Country | United Arab Emirates
Category | Buildings
Project Type | Mixed Use
Project Duration | From: Q3 2004 Actual
To: Q1 2010 Actual
Status Completed
Scope | Burj Khalifa (Burj Dubai) is the tallest man-made structure ever built. The building is part of the 2 km2 development called Downtown Dubai. The mixed
use development will include residential units, offices, hotels and residential apartments. The tower is composed of three elements arranged around a
central core. As it rises from the flat desert base, each element is set back in an upward-spiraling helical pattern, decreasing the mass of the tower as it
reaches toward the sky and thereby decreasing the wind effects.
Schedule | On 4th January 2010, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashed Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, opened the tower, and named it Burj Khalifa. The height of Burj
Khalifa is 828m.
Remark | Burj Khalifa (Burj Dubai) is the tallest man-made structure ever built.

10. PLANNED CONSTRUCTION DURATION AND
ACTUAL DURATION:
The original construction duration was supposed to be for 47
months, starting from Feb 2005 to Dec 2008. The actual duration
took 9 months more, the project was finished at September 2009.
There was a breakdown in construction for 4 months.

11. BUDGETED CONSTRUCTION COST AND
ACTUAL COST:
The initial planned cost of Dubai’s tower was 876 million dollars,
for height of 728m. however, the construction cost doubled up to
almost 1.5 billion dollar, due to multiple problems and due to major
changes in the plan, such as making the final design 100m higher
than the initial one. Also, changes in interior design.

12. MAIN OBSTACLES DURING CONSTRUCTION:
 One of the major obstacles was the rise in prices of raw
materials, such as iron which had increased 75% within a year.
 Adding a 100m of height to the initial design has raised the
costs as well, also due to demands of a client hotel major
changes were made in interior design.
 In 2006 the project fell behind schedule, labors were
brought from countries like India and Pakistan and were being
paid very low wages.

13. RISK MANAGEMENT:
 The main risks during the design procedure were :
 The building load (gravity), and the wind load. But the highest risk was the
high speed elevators.
 Since the attacks of 9/11, a new important factor is considered in
skyscrapers. Which is evacuation. Evacuation is full of challenges for such tall
structure. However, the tower has perfect evacuation system. In addition to
refuge rooms that are fire resistant and heat resistant for up to 2 hours. The
rooms are also provided with air pumps.
 Even though seismic activity is moderate in UAE, but it’s risky for tower
with more than half km of height. This was solved by designing it with a
triangular shape. The building is able to resist up to 6 Richter’s.

14. 10. METHODS USED DURING CONSTRUCTION:
 Structure design software’s were used to simulate and analyze
the construction, (i.g : csi etabs).
 Construction Project management software was used as well, it’s
called prolog manager.

15. REFERENCES :
 1. project management from burj dubai to burj khalifa, Bristol
2009.
 2. Burj Khalifa mode of construction, joji mathew – slideshare.net.
 3. http://www.constructionweekonline.com/projects-112-burj-
khalifa-burj-dubai/#.Uy5IRPl_tEN

16. THANK YOU