Building Information Modeling (BIM) Implementation in Public–Private Partnership (PPP) Projects

Public–private partnerships (PPPs) have been very popular for the past thirty years in an effort to maximize the relative strengths of the public and private sectors, especially for infrastructure projects. The construction industry is a dynamic sector where the needs of clients change frequently. PPPs that were established a few years ago are not viable in today’s industry. There have been studies about the challenges and lessons learned from PPPs in construction projects all around the world, yet it is not certain how these challenges can be used to improve the performance of PPP projects. Building Information Modeling (BIM), as a 3D modeling and digitalization tool, has great potential to improve collaboration in PPP projects, which would improve the overall project performance with benefits such as reduced cost and duration. However, implementing this technology requires new steps rather than the well-known traditional approaches, especially when there are barriers affecting the success of BIM implementation in PPP projects. This study will analyze the drivers and barriers of BIM in PPP projects and aims to resolve the implementation dilemma by proposing a BIM Implementation Plan. The methodology will include conducting an extensive literature review and evaluating BIM adaptation at the company and project levels via PPP case studies. The results will show major drivers and barriers to utilizing BIM in PPPs and offer solutions to common barriers to address the challenges of PPP projects with regard to implementing BIM.