When fast track means fast smart: The challenge of designing and building an airport and its facilities in 15 months

This paper describes how three teams from three different companies, hailing from three diverse countries, having never worked together, have succeeded in the face of a seemingly impossible challenge. Moreover, it shows how good relationships and collaboration have made what was thought unachievable a reality. The three principal parties involved with the project are its owner, based in Kuwait, DGCA, the contractor, CENGIZ, based in Turkey, and the designer, the Spanish branch of the multinational infrastructure company, AECOM. The challenge was to design and build a green-field terminal and its related facilities, including all ancillary buildings, car parks and accesses roads, in 15 months starting in August 2016. In addition to the apparent obstacles faced, the project was launched with haste and not all information required to design a terminal building of such significance was available, which also meant the team had to include preliminary research as part of an already compressed schedule. This initial query required the group to draw on its previous international experience and in-house benchmarks to push the project forward. Strong cooperation and partnership between the teams provided the fuel for efficient decision making and collaboration, keeping the project on schedule and meeting tight deadlines. Despite the ambitious schedule, quality was not only uncompromised, but emphasised as a necessity for successful completion. Excellence in design has been a cornerstone of the project since its inception, meeting and exceeding standards of world class contemporary terminals around the globe.