Alistair Gosling has built a foundation of experiences throughout his 25-year plus career within a wide gamut of industries such as media, marketing, licensing, and destination development. He now joins one of the biggest public-private partnership (PPP) projects to date with the entertainment giga-project Qiddiya, the 334-square-km sports, entertainment and cultural phenomenon that’s being developed in Saudi Arabia.
As the founder and CEO of EXTREME and an Advisory Board Member of Qiddiya, Gosling shares with us insights on the opportunities, challenges, and necessary qualities needed to be part of the biggest PPP project in the world.
Finding the Strengths in Public-Private Partnerships
As Saudi Arabia opened its doors to international tourism, future developments are starting to take shape within the region with giga-projects such as NEOM, the Red Sea Project, and Qiddiya. This provided a unique opportunity for Gosling to give insight into the strengths and advantages that Giga PPP projects bring beyond the typical public-private partnerships.
Gosling currently acts as an Advisory Board Member of Qiddiya, and even though it’s still in the early stages of PPP, the Giga project is already projecting similar benefits to large infrastructure projects within the UK, Georgia, and Saudi Arabia. “When you have PPP working well, you get the benefit of an entrepreneurial spirit from the private side baked in with the strength, the weight, and the ability to get things done by the public side.”
While Gosling is quick to note that Qiddiya is still in its early stages and is yet to provide concrete benefits for the region, based on the numerous global PPP projects he’s seen and been part of, the advantages of having government support (either in finance, land, etc.) will seamlessly work with the private side to bring speed and efficiency.
Building up The Bidders and Balancing Partnerships
Attracting investors to channel their resources towards PPP projects requires a delicate balance between government support and providing benefits to private organizations. However, Qiddiya finds itself at a unique stage as major businesses have shown support for the Giga project.
“The announcement between Samsung and Qiddiya in the conference at Riyadh is a good example of major public-private partnerships that will be key in driving more investors.” Gosling continues, “There’s always challenges (with attracting bidders) but having Samsung announce a major partnership with Qiddiya, they are one of the first and others will follow.”
And with the prospect of major investors to follow suit, there needs to be a balance between investors and the government to ensure both sides get their fair share. For Gosling, he believes it’s about creating a “win-win situation for both parties.” To manage negotiations without giving the bidder an advantageous position, Gosling notes the need for strict government procurement processes within Qiddiya to ensure fairness, allowing for both sides to win.
Patience Is Key and Mitigating Risks
To be an Advisory Board Member for one of the largest infrastructure projects in the world, Gosling understands the need to wield his 25 years of experience in destination development to steer Qiddiya into success while still limiting the social and environmental consequences, and any unexpected costs or delays.
“Patience in public-private partnerships is number 1,” he notes. “As well as being very thorough, but also being very steady and having a lot of patience in these partnerships. And you have to look at the other side and understand what their objectives are, and try to ensure that you fit within that framework and what they are doing from an overall perspective.”
Given the size of the Qiddiya, there’s bound to be risks involved in the development of these Giga project infrastructures and Gosling is well aware that handling unexpected costs and schedule overruns can be challenging.
“You just have to follow the general system,” Gosling mentions. He also notes that when it comes to delays or risks, organizations need to “manage the risk and mitigate as best as they can from an overall perspective.”
The Role of Leadership and Community for a Successful PPP
The foundation of successful public-private partnerships relies on numerous factors, one of them being effective business leadership. For Gosling, leadership roles are all about “finding the opportunities, understanding the other side as much as possible, finding the fit between the sectors (whether you’re from the private or public side of partnership), and building it out from there.”
Beyond the leadership, the support of the communities can be a major boost for the development of PPP infrastructure projects. Thankfully for Gosling, the community’s reaction to Qiddiya “has been phenomenal.” And with the right process and systems in place, Qiddiya is on track to become a major destination for investors, both foreign and local, looking to be part of the biggest PPP project in the world.