Influence of implementation of climate-resilient critical infrastructure on effective project management practices - South African Context

Abstract

The increasing risk of climate change has increased the demand of climate-resilient critical infrastructure (CRCI) that promotes sustainability, socio-economic stability, and adaptive project delivery systems. In the South African context, the occurrence of extreme weather events on a regular basis has exposed vulnerabilities in the infrastructure planning and management, highlighting the need to harmonise the project management practices with the principles of resilience. This research is aimed at exploring the effects of CRCI implementation on effective project management practices in South Africa, determining the areas of project management that are most impacted by resilience integration, and creating a contextual framework that can be used to inform resilience-based infrastructure delivery. The qualitative exploratory study based on the interpretivist philosophy and narrative inquiry research strategy was used to explore the lived experiences and views of professionals engaged in the delivery of climate-resilient infrastructure. Semi-structured interviews with 13 professionals working in the infrastructure sector were used to collect data, and thematic analysis was used to analyse the data inductively. The results indicate that resilience integration does not only change the project management models, which are mostly static and efficiency-based, but also encourages adaptive, participatory, and system-based practices that focus on early risk detection, lifecycle cost-efficiency, and inclusivity of stakeholders. The framework was created with seven components, which included policy alignment, collaboration, capacity building, institutional accountability, socio-political integration, financial sustainability and adaptive management. The research concludes that the integration of resilience in project management improves sustainability, governance coherence, and long-term project performance of the critical infrastructure in South Africa.