Risk identification and assessment in sustainable construction projects in the UAE

Abstract

There is a big shift towards sustainable construction projects in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Sustainable construction projects are riskier than traditional projects. The purpose of this paper is to identify and assess the risks in sustainable construction projects in the UAE. This will help project participants to properly manage these risks in their projects. A list of thirty risks was identified based on literature review. These risks were grouped into five categories: management, technical, green team, green materials and regulatory/economic. A survey was then developed and sent to professionals from the UAE. The respondents evaluated each risk in terms of its probability of occurrence and potential impact. Forty-four responses were collected. The thirty risks were ranked based on the risk severity (probability multiplied by impact). The top five risks are shortage of clients’ funding, insufficient or incorrect sustainable design information, design changes, unreasonably tight schedule for sustainable construction and poor scope definition in sustainable construction. Risk identification and assessment are important part of project risk management. This allows for appropriate risk response planning and control.