From December 17th to 25th, Professor Ding Ronggui, Director of the Project Management Institute of the School of Management, Shandong University, Sun Tao, Director of the Department of Project Management and Industrial Engineering, and some master and doctoral students visited the Dubai Hassyan Power Plant. They were invited to provide management services for the project and carry out research related to the management of cross-cultural project teams and the governance of major projects on the Belt and Road Initiative.
Dubai Hassyan Power Plant Project is a key project of Sino-UAE cooperation in high-tech fields mentioned in President Xi Jinping’s signed article on the eve of his state visit to the UAE in 2018. It is a key project under the Belt and Road Initiative, and the world’s first commercially operated dual-fuel (coal-fired and natural gas-fired) power plant with full load capacity. The project, with a total investment of more than US$3 billion, is under the general contracting of Harbin Electric International Company Limited (HEI) and GE as an EPC consortium. The power generation capacity of the project will be able to generate 20 percent more power than Dubai’s electricity demand, which is of great significance to the local economic and social development, and can effectively guarantee the strategic energy security of the Dubai region. Duan Tengfei, an alumnus of the School who majored in engineering management in the class of 2003 and the general manager of HEI’s Sixth Thermal Power Division, served as the project manager of the project and led a project management team consisting of employees from more than 20 countries to implement the project.
The team investigated the project site, conducted interviews with the management team, and had in-depth exchanges on the risks and challenges faced by the project, the project management process and innovation, the project governance structure, the governance process, etc. In addition, the team also put forward suggestions on Chinese standards being applied overseas, Chinese engineering enterprises’ participation in the development of international standards, the enhancement of the management and international influence of Chinese engineering enterprises, the enhancement of Chinese engineering enterprises’ overseas competitiveness, etc. Professor Ding gave a lecture on management topics to all the managers at the project site, which was well received by the managers.
The visit effectively promoted the understanding of the two sides and laid a solid foundation for further cooperation and exchange between the university and the enterprise. Professor Ding’s team has participated in the management service of many national major projects, which has a positive effect on the enhancement of graduate students’ international vision and practical ability, the promotion of university-enterprise cooperation in engineering management, as well as the expansion of the discipline influence of the engineering management in the University.
