An Account on the Gold Coast Light Rail Project - Coursework Example

REPORT ON THE GOLD COAST LIGHT RAIL PROJECT           TABLE OF CONTENTS: (i)  Project definition.     (ii) Project stakeholders.     (iii) Interests of different stakeholders.     (iv) Project delivery system and contract.     (v) Conclusion           Introduction It is a hyper-modern and super sophisticated electric rail that has employed the present day competencies and technologies hence making it a superior and spectacular project of its kind. This project, the Gold Coast light rail was carried out on the central east coast of Australia in a city known as the Gold Coast. The city is the biggest in Australia and has a population of approximately half a million. It is the biggest of it kind of all the infrastructural projects ever undertaken in the city. This rail has the advantages of super speed, highly efficient, reliability and convenience. It traverses within a wide scope of regions from Gold Coast University Hospital, Griffith University, Queen street, Nerang street, Southport, Broadwater Parklands, Main Beach, Surfers paradise, North,Cypress Avenue, Cavill Avenue, North Cliffe, Florida Gardens, Broadbeach North and extending to Broadbeach South. GoldLinQ Pty Ltd was contracted by the Queensland Government. It was responsible for the designing, construction, operations and running management, maintenance and consistent upgrading of the standards of the Gold Coast light rail system. Strategic and collective partnerships with the respective GoldLinQ consortium members was a key strategy for realizing this noble projects. This mega project was to be implemented as a public-private partnership between the Queensland Government, City of Gold Coast (City), the Commonwealth of Australia and GoldLinQ. The city contributed the lion share with a total contribution of approximately one hundred and twenty million dollars.       Interests of various project stakeholders. Queensland Government In realizing this project, the government had myriad interests. Key among the interests was providing a modern, world-class, outstanding and  spectacular rail that was to be  a milestone in the global infrastructural divides. Subsequently, the benefits of this project would culminate to faster and reliable transportation across the Gold Coast. Consequently, this project would speed up the economic growth of the region because of cheaper and reliable transportation networks. More so, it would offer employment opportunities that would not only reduce the level of unemployment but also raise the living standards of the residents. Most importantly, it would act as a source of income through the tax levied. That income would be used to raise the standards of the facility and also to upgrade and maintain its high standards. GoldLinQ This was the company that the government contracted to roll out the entire project, analyze and implement it to the highest and best standards ever achieved in Gold Coast. Their basic interest was to come up and realize a superior world-class rail that is sustainable, reliable, city changing, and modern day light rail system. This would not only ensure the future prosperity of the Gold Coast community but also build their reputation as a company. As a result, there would be an increase in their demand in the days to come and also ensure their services are highly esteemed and bided for. The key behavioral virtues that enabled them meet their interests included; Ensuring they care for each other and giving safety the highest priority always. Upholding the spirit of togetherness and teamwork thus ensuring they had one community, one project, and one success. Most importantly, they took pride in their products and services and they always celebrated their successes together. Subsequently that would end up displaying energy, vigor and amazing commitment to their work. Moreover, they were committed to ensuring that they earned and delivered not only trust but mutual respect through integrity and showcasing empathy. They were determined to exemplify excellent leadership qualities and reliability in the discharge of the roles vested to them.     City of Gold Coast The key interest of Gold Coast City was to ensure safer, convenient, reliable, cheaper and faster navigation around the entire city. They wanted to maintain and sustain a pure and non-hazardous environment for our people and everybody that needs us. They were also interested to ensure their city is deemed as reliable in designs, construction, maintenance, operations and such. They were determined to provide a world-class product which would be second to none in service wise and in the public image. Not to mention, the need and yearn to provide excellent economic and wholesome benefits to our people was dire. Consequently, that would demonstrate and depict value for money to not only the State but also on the community grounds. They were interested in achieving the full potential of the system by promoting the use of rail as compared to the motorways and also to promote the connections to Helens vale and Gold Coast airport in the near future. Environmental impacts was also a primary interest of the city.  Minimize environmental impacts and promote sustainable outcomes       Project Delivery System This is basically a system used by various agencies or project owners to organize and finance the design ,construction ,operations and  general maintenance of any structure by coming up with a memorandum of understanding with various parties and entities involved in a particular project. This is achieved by coming into legal and logistical agreements with various signatories. Breach of such agreements amounts to huge penalties as agreed in the signed contract. In this case, the design-bid-build delivery system was employed. The  joint owners (the Queensland government and the Gold coast city)came  up with the  contract documents with blueprints and  a fully defined specifications of what the projects would entail, all in a nutshell (the Gold Coast Light rail). Subsequently, various contractors applied in an attempt to bid or be awarded the contract of the proposed project. Usually, the contract is awarded to the lowest bidder of the time, all the required qualifications and skills, withstanding. The contract was awarded to the GoldlinQ. This is usually the most preferred delivery system as it allows for the owner to contract both the design team and the general contractor for the project. It usually has two or more parties that may or may not be contractually bound since the objectives and interests of each might be different. This process can also be handled by a construction management. In this case, an owner with documents filled partially but relevantly, hires a construction manager of his choice to act as an agent. The then appointed construction manager will find bids from appropriate subcontractors. The primary advantage of the latter is that it allows the project to be implemented and realized more quickly and in a more efficient manner. In some cases, the contractor, after completing the realization and the execution of the project, might offer extensive maintenance and running operations as agreed. It is also advantageous in that it gives the general contractor the responsibility of dealing directly or indirectly with all parties involved such as the material suppliers, the mini contractors, and quality assurance officers amongst other stakeholders. This delivery system also gives a chance for the owner of the project to state clearly and explicitly all the legal and logistical requirements as required by the law. This enlightens all prospective contractors and binds them such that in the event of breach or misdelivery, they can be actioned by the law that binds them. More so, it gives a chance for evaluating all prospective contractors by asking their workloads at hand, the skills and competencies at their disposal, previous experiences in jobs of similar complexities and their financial and material stability. Lastly, it is the easiest and the most efficient project delivery system, it ensures there is a strict cost control and it is the best system for complex contracts. Contractual and functional relationship amongst the stakeholders. The contractual relationship between the owner and the contractor (GoldliQ) and the owner (the government in joint with the Gold Coast City) was to deliver access of the site to the GoldliQ. The material to be dealt with was stated in the tender documents and any variation in requirement calls for understanding and negotiation between the two parties.         Conclusion The parties involved in the delivery and implementation of this project strictly followed the earlier agreed term which led to efficient and timely delivery of the project. Today this project has positively influenced the economic growth of Australia. Today the congestion and traffic jams in the Gold Coast City has been reduced by this rail project.             References Chen, Y, Liu, J, Li, B and Lin B (2011) Project Delivery System Selection of Construction Projects in China “Experts Systems with Applications, 10.1016/j.eswa.2010.10.008,5456-5462 Moon,H,Cho,K,Hong,T and Hyun C(2011) Selection  Model for Delivery Methods for Multifamily-Housing Construction Projects “Journal of management in Engineering,10.1061/(ASCE )ME .1943-5479.0000038 Shrestha P. and Mani, N….2012.Impact of Design Cost on Design Bid Build Project performance.Construction Research Congress 20121570-1579   Read More