Managing construction costs while satisfying stakeholders and keeping the project on track requires careful planning, transparent communication, and strict cost control. Establishing a detailed budget with contingencies, leveraging value engineering, and using technology for real-time cost tracking help prevent overruns. Effective procurement, risk management, and a strict change order process ensure financial stability without compromising quality. Regular stakeholder updates foster trust and alignment, while automation and construction management software improve efficiency. By balancing cost efficiency with project goals, you can maintain stakeholder satisfaction and deliver a successful project on time and within budget.

In my 29 years of experience, anticipating risks is crucial for project success. The tools—Technical Planning, Scheduling, and Economic Planning—don’t need to be perfect; frequent monitoring is key. This provides trend vectors, enabling anticipation. A common mistake is confusing planning with present-day control, wasting time that should be spent on future projections. Planning must set clear stakeholder expectations, avoiding constant revisions. AI will help automate control variables, freeing resources for proactive project foresight.

1. Instead of awarding full project on EPC basis to some contractor split the entire project into smaller units. 2. Have your own monitoring team to oversee project performance of all the vendors 3. Critically examine each project in overall perspective before awarding. Additional items or quantity variations will be negative for successful commissioning of projects. 3. Strictly follow with judicial mindset all the norms prescribed in GCC and SCC of the contract document from the day one till the end. 4. Develop habits of shooting notice to contractor which would benefit at the time of closing the contract. 5. Follow steps so that Time overruns and cost overruns of a contract is minimum.