THE SUCCESS OF THE ADELAIDE DESALINATION PROJECT

Abstract

The PMI Project of the Year for 2013 was won by the South Australia Water Corporation for the Adelaide Desalination Project. This project was performed to raise Adelaide out of its worst droughts. It was also completed ahead of schedule and within budget. Though the project ran into some uncertainties even before its start, due to some exceptional management practices followed by the Project Director and his team, the project was a resounding success. This report studies some of the key aspects that led to the success of this project and it eventually winning the coveted PMI Project of the Year Award.

THE SUCCESS OF THE ADELAIDE DESALINATION PROJECT

The Project that won the Project Management Institute’s Award for the year 2013 was the Adelaide Desalination Project Adelaide, Australia by the SA Water Corporation. South Australia, as the "driest state in the driest inhabited continent", experienced severe water shortages during periods of drought. As drought conditions worsened during 2006-2007, reduced inflow into the River Murray lead to the introduction of harsher water restrictions. The need for climate-independent sources of drinking water was clear to government leaders and residents. The South Australian Water Corporation (SA Water) responded with a plan to build an AU$1.8 billion desalination plant in Adelaide. Launched in February of 2008, the project originally aimed to construct a 50-gigaliter seawater desalination facility with the capacity to meet 25 percent of Adelaide’s annual water needs. Their goal was to complete the entire project by June 2012.

Following exceptional ethical management practices is a very important aspect for the success of a project. The Project Director of the Adelaide Desalination Project, Milind Kumar, his team and the organization were responsible and took ownership of decisions. This included knowing and meeting all legal requirements, reporting unethical or illegal conduct to appropriate management, fulfilling commitments and protecting proprietary and confidential information. They were respectful of themselves, listened to others and protected resources entrusted to them. They were fair and transparent in decisions including disclosing conflicts of interest to appropriate stakeholders.
Milind successfully delivered the Adelaide Desalination Project as Project Director with full responsibility for all aspects of the project from inception to handover. Milind was also responsible for all Operations and Maintenance and reported to SA Water’s Chief Executive and the Board.
SA Water convinced stakeholders that the solution for South Australia's lingering drought was an AU$1.4 billion desalination plant. As the drought deepened, the government even increased the project budget by AU$450 million, pledging to double capacity and begin production 12 months early. But then it rained. And support for the project ebbed as the people wondered whether such a desalination facility was required at all. The team quickly responded – and their outstanding project management and stakeholder communication turned the tide. The project was faced with enormous complexities that included environmental sensitivities, geology, scale and risks associated with groundwater, tunneling and marine works. Securing early support from government stakeholders allowed the organization to secure approval for all required contracts and permits within a year of the project announcement. The organization also communicated the project’s benefits to the surrounding community, specifically the Kaurna indigenous population that had long occupied the area.

The project team worked closely with community leaders, integrating Kaurna artifacts and cultural history into a planned on-site visitors’ center. The SA Water delivery team also created strict risk-assessment and inspection processes that kept the team on schedule. Though the Australian government increased the budget, the team still had to determine how to accommodate more than 13,000 new activities required to complete the facility.

Since the project was passed to the operations team in December 2012, the facility has supplied the region with more than 45 billion liters (12 billion gallons) of drinking water, enough to fill 18,000 Olympic swimming pools.

By leveraging strong, standardized project management practices, innovative ways to identify risks and overcome unexpected changes, and top-notch communication, SA Water Corporation conquered the complexity challenge and safely completed a critical initiative that not only achieved its business goals, but sustained a community amid critical drought conditions. The Adelaide Desalination Project is the largest infrastructure project in South Australia, delivering 50% of Adelaide’s drinking water needs from a climate-independent source. The Adelaide Desalination Project has set a number of world-benchmarks in terms of social, economic and environmental infrastructure with strong community and stakeholder outcomes, quality, durability and operational performance. The team completed the project 19 days early and within 1 percent of the original budget, earning the 2013 PMI Project of the Year Award. The triple constraints - Scope, Time and Cost - are the most important knowledge areas. For the Adelaide Desalination Project,
Scope of Work: included conducting environmental and engineering investigation, developing concept designs for the 100 GL per annum seawater desalination plant and transfer pipeline, and involvement in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process. Time: The project was completed 19 days ahead of the deadline.
Cost: The original budget of the project was AU$1.85 billion. However, the project was completed a full percent under the budget.

Conclusion

The Adelaide Desalination Project is and remains the most expensive infrastructure project that the State of South Australia has funded, owns and has completed successfully - to date. The Project manager and his team have exhibited exceptional and ethical project management practices, which led to the success of this project.

REFERENCES

[1] PMI Adelaide Chapter Newsletter, PMI Newsletter, Nov 2013(Issue #3), pg 4-5.
[2] Hunter, Minister Ian (October 2013), Adelaide Desalination Plant project wins international award, Celotti Australia. Retrieved from http://www.celottiaustralia.wordpress.com/tag/milind-kumar/ [3] Kelly, Megan Maguire (2013), Adelaide Desalination Project Takes Top Honors as 2013 PMI Project of the Year Award Winner, PMI. Retrieved from www.pmi.org/en/About-Us/Press-Releases/2013-PMI-POY-Award-Winner.aspx
[4] Miller, Cyndee (October 2013), Insider Tips from the Project of the Year Award Winner and Finalists, PM Global Congress 2013. Retrieved from http://blogs.pmi.org/blog/voices_on_project_management/2013/10/insider-tips-from-the-project.html
[5] Gillies, Alison (October 2013), Project management on Adelaide Desalination Project recognized as world class, Aurecon. Retrieved from http://www.aurecongroup.com/en/about/latest-news/2013/oct/project-management-on-adelaide-desalination-project-recognised-as-world-class.aspx

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