Lessons learned from Multinational Parties Involved Program Management Consortiums in Korea

This study explores the issue of program management consortia involving multinational participants. The aim of this research was to leverage advantages in program management (PM) skills and PM model improvement in product line construction in mega scale construction programs, typically funded by public funds. Such ventures involve multinational parties using dedicated partnering based on a program management consortium (PMC) to reduce confrontation between parties in complex circumstances, allowing an open and non-adversarial approach to project management. This research also seeks to implement an ongoing feedback program of best practices and lessons learned to minimize the repetition of mistakes and to reduce costs in sequenced construction. Recently, the Korean government has planned to undertake three large new projects: the Korean Peninsula major river maintenance, the reclamation of Se-Mangum, and the Science/Business City. This paper starts by providing a framework for the cost-reduction strategy for the United States Forces Korea (USFK) Relocation Program, which will be funded with public funds and a private fund investment (PFI) that combines programs executed by two governments as owners and multinational stakeholders, joined in the PMC. The establishment of project-oriented consortia is an innovative and non-adversarial approach to massive international construction projects. Such projects have used various tools effectively and skillfully. This experience may offer an opportunity to practice new and advanced program management delivery methods, and it is expected that Korea will gain a competitive advantage in the international construction market.