In numerous countries around the world, for purpose such as development and growth of national technological industry, reduction of urban density and population distribution, establishment of environmentally-friendly infrastructure, relocation of nati...
In numerous countries around the world, for purpose such as development and growth of national technological industry, reduction of urban density and population distribution, establishment of environmentally-friendly infrastructure, relocation of national administrative capital, as well as establishment of multi-purpose complex combining commercial, residential, and leisure spaces, large-scale cities have been recently constructed, or construction projects for such cities are in progress or in planning stages.
In case of Korea, the "S-City," a city conceived and planned based on the Korean government's concept of "Administrative City," is under construction in the central part of the country as a decentralizing policy of national government's functions away from massively over concentrated capital region. The S-City project is comprised of the public sector section that is funded by the government's project cost, and the private sector section that is funded by private investment. Overall, the project is structured so that government investment paves the way for private investment to follow. The public sector section of the project, including the construction of city grounds, traffic infrastructure, public facilities, culture and welfare facilities, etc., is driven by a government agency for the S-City project and a project developer. The private sector section, including the construction of municipal utility facilities, educational facilities, commercial facilities, etc. is comprised of numerous private companies and investors.
In order to provide an accurate assessment of the overall progress of a large-scale city construction project such as the S-City project with multiple agencies, contractors, and other entities a reasonable progress measurement method for accessing all facilities, public and private is critical. Currently, the progress measurement payment method, based on the project cost, and the total cost payment method are used as general methodology for measuring progress of large-scale construction projects. However, applying these methods to the S-City project will only measure the progress of the public sector side of the project, and exclude municipal utility facilities, educational facilities, commercial facilities, etc. that falls under the private sector side of the project; thus, using legacy methods will not result in an accurate assessment of the construction progress of the entire city. Furthermore, the progress measurement payment method does not render the physical completion of facilities in realistic fashion, and any changes to the overall budget will affect the level of projected progress.
Therefore, in order to provide an accurate and effective assessment of the level of completion in a large-scale city construction project, this study weighs key facilities of the city based on expert recommendations, and establishes a model for calculation and assessment of the weighed progress level. Moreover, through case study of the S-City project and the application of informational systems to the project, this study aims to propose an effective operational plan for progress management of large-scale city construction projects.
For this purpose, the progress rate data of city components are tiered based on the level of management, and surveys and interviews with city construction and project management experts were conducted in order to weigh each key facility that comprise a large-scale city. The Analytical Hierarchy Process(AHP) method was used for the survey in order to process subjective assessments into a more impartial and systematic data. For contract page level-data, which serves as an input to the progress of the entire construction project, control points(based on Earned Value) were applied for each step to measure the objective rate of progress for each lines of effort.
In order to review the availability of the proposed progress management model, a simulation was conducted based on the progress of key facilities in the completed parts of the basic living area. Using the projected progress rate, the progress of key facilities in the parts of the basic living area that are still under construction were compared, enabling decision support for prioritizing investment to different facilities.
Finally, an appropriate module for assessing progress rate of key facilities in the S-City was established, and the information system for large-scale city construction projects was created incorporating the module.
Applying the progress management model and the information system proposed in this paper to large-scale construction projects such as large-scale city construction projects will ensure more effective utilization of government funds, as well as increased convenience for the public. Also, the results of this study and its proposed model can be applied to foreign large-scale city construction projects, fostering exports in related industries and ultimately contributing to Korea's national competitiveness.