Location

Hong Kong

Client

Oriental Hong Kong Limited

Contract Value

HK$1,000 million

Construction Period

2005 Q2 - 2006 Q4

To ensure that the Mandarin Oriental Hotel maintained its reputation into the 21st century, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group decided in 2005 to completely renovate the property. The plans included reconfiguring many of the dining and public areas, and enclosing the balconies with a new, modern curtain wall that would enlarge the guest rooms.

The main challenge facing the Gammon project team with this contract was timing. As the renovation required the closure of the hotel for a limited nine-month period, with a consequent loss of revenue, it was critical that the work be undertaken as quickly as possible.

The hotel closed on December 28, 2005 and, despite changes to the scope of work during construction, Gammon completed Stage 1 in just eight months, allowing the hotel to re-open - to considerable public acclaim - on September 28, 2006.

During Stage 1, work on the podium levels and several floors of guest rooms was substantially completed, and, along with the upper floor restaurants, spa facilities and swimming pool, re-opened in October 2006. During the final few months of 2006 and the first quarter of 2007, the remaining guest rooms were completed progressively and returned to the hotel's inventory.

With just eight months' lead time, the Gammon team began on-site work quickly and decisively, requiring extensive pre-construction planning to ensure that construction proceeded on Day 1.

Once work had begun, the volume of materials removed from and brought onto the site, together with the substantial workforce involved, required detailed logistics management to ensure that safety was paramount and materials were consistently available and delivered on time.

Meanwhile, the need for on-time delivery and high standards of quality control demanded extensive monitoring of off-site production and Gammon proactively identified challenges and promptly developed solutions to minimise or eliminate any potential for delay.

On site, Gammon developed an extensive risk management register, expanded through consultation with all key subcontractors and with the assistance of an external facilitator, to identify, manage and mitigate specific risks, substantially reducing the potential for negative consequences during construction.