With construction of the first three hotels – of an expected 31 – due to start next year, Bawadi chief executive Arif Mubarak believes his team is taking the time to make sure the project is delivered on time with as few issues as possible.
“We have always said that the cycle will be divided into three phases: there is a designing phase, a construction phase, and there is an operation phase, which is a destination management phase,” he said.
“Currently, because the launch of Bawadi was in May last year, almost eight months ago, we are still in the planning phase.”
Given the issues many in the construction industry are facing with labor and skill shortages, it’s not hard to imagine that undertaking one of largest hospitality projects in the world would have its own challenges – and on a much larger scale.
But Mubarak is confident that planning is the answer.
“As far as challenges, there are going to be challenges in everything that you do,” he said.
“But I think the question should be, how do you overcome those challenges? We are spending the right time planning it well, because if you don’t plan it, you will have bad designs.
“If you spend the right time planning it and putting in the right designs, you will be able to get it right. So as far as challenges, we are able to know what are these challenges and how to overcome these challenges. We have a timeline and we have a plan, and there are no real challenges here to talk of on-site or outside of these activities. But focussing on our planning phase is the most important thing right now.”
Follow us on
