Transformation of water resource management: a case study of the South-to-North Water Diversion project

Water transformation plays a crucial role in the rational allocation and avoiding over-exploitation of natural resources. Mega water transformation project will not only bring opportunities for ecological and economical use of water resources, but also contribute towards regional industrial and societal transformations. The scarcity of water is a serious issue for north China, accordingly the Chinese government decided to implement the South-to-North Water Diversion project in order to transfer water from the water rich south China to China's northern region. The South-to-North Water Diversion project is the largest water diversion project in the world involving significant long distance and inter-basin water transfer features. The management of this mega project faced a number of significant challenges as it had to contend with a variety of issues including politics, the economy, society, local culture, the environment and the local ecology. This project has also drawn global attention to the question of how to coordinate, manage and implement the world's largest water resource project. This study focuses on management practices of the South-to-North Water Diversion project by investigating the project's eastern and central routes. The three project management approaches that were used in this project, i.e. project owner direct management, project consignment management, and agent construction management (Daijianzhi) were investigated. Management regulations, control measures and common issues associated with the South to-North Water Diversion project were also examined. These included: land acquisition and resettlement, bidding and tendering, construction supervision, quality management, cost management and schedule management. A questionnaire survey was conducted with key project participants in order to identify the key factors that contribute towards cost overruns and delays in the project. This is one of very limited number of studies which have in-depth investigation of mega water transformation projects in a systematic manner. The findings are expected to assist both academics and industry practitioners gain a better understanding of management practices in this mega water transformation project. This is particularly useful as the project team has to deal with a variety of sustainability related issues apart from traditional project management duties. Similarly, the lessons learnt from this case study will provide a valuable reference for the management of mega engineering projects and act as useful inputs for an international benchmarking exercise. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.