The coalition government has released it’s first 149 fast-track projects. This includes a range of projects, from housing and infrastructure through to aquaculture and mining. The accompanying Fast-track Approvals Bill (FTA Bill) is expected to be passed into law before the end of 2024. The projects included a veritable bucket list of megaprojects from around the motu.
Megaprojects are temporary endeavours (i.e. projects) characterised by: large investment commitment, vast complexity (especially in organisational terms), and long-lasting impact on the economy, the environment, and society.
Megaprojects are notorious for costing too much, taking too long and not delivering their promised benefits. The FTA Bill is expected to cut the red tape needed to get these projects underway. But the success of each project will be dependent on the skills of the people that will deliver them. No doubt, some will fail.
The following lessons from megaprojects around thew world can be applied to your own land development project to reduce risk and improve the chances of success:
- Hire a Masterbuilder: Find a person with deep domain experience and a proven track record to lead your project.
- Get your team right: The right team makes everything better. It is the job of the Masterbuilder to assemble and lead the right team.
- Ask “Why?”: At every step the team should know that their present actions are effectively contributing to achieving the ultimate result.
- Build with Lego: Find the basic building blocks of your project and scale these up to get better, faster, bigger and cheaper.
- Think slow, act fast: Delivery is expensive and dangerous. Keep the window of risk small and limit your exposure by investing in good planning.
- Take the outside view: Your project is special, but probably not unique. Learn from the experience of others to identify and mitigate risks.
- Watch your downside: Risk kills projects so don’t just focus on winning, focus on not losing.
- Say no and walk away: Make sure you have the resources (including contigencies) to do what needs to be done, and do no more.
- Make friends and keep them friendly: Build your bridges with stakeholders before you need them.
Our philosophy towards land development at Infill embraces all these lessons.
They are from the book “How Big Things Get Done: The Surpirising Factors Behind Every Successful Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration” by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner, 2023.
