Howard McDonagh, Project Director, Khansaheb Civil Engineering, explains what it takes to deliver a fast-track, large-scale venue expansion at speed, without sacrificing safety, finish quality, or commissioning discipline
The reality with a venue like the Dubai Exhibition Centre is that the calendar doesn’t negotiate. Events are published, exhibitor logistics are locked, and the handover date becomes an operational truth rather than a target. In that context, Howard McDonagh’s view is blunt: delivery only works when the team stays ruthless about what makes the building “event-ready” first, and refuses to let pressure dilute standards. It is, as he puts it, “crucial that we remain focused on the key event readiness works,” channeling resources into the items that allow safe occupation, approvals, and real-world operation, not just visual completion.
That focus also reshaped how the team worked day to day in the final stretch. Instead of defaulting to routine meeting cycles, the approach became more immediate and site-led. Howard describes a decision to “temporarily postpone meetings and collectively focus exclusively on the on-site management of the remaining works,” essentially clearing the diary to protect the job. It is the kind of move that only happens when the project is in its decisive phase and every hour has a cost.
If there was one constraint that tested the programme most, it was the market itself. Howard points to the “fast track and large scale of the project” as the pressure point, mainly because it “posed challenges with sufficient and timely mobilisation of the required skilled resources.” The answer, he says, is not a single workaround but a stack of disciplined behaviours: early visibility on targets, constant engagement with subcontractors and suppliers, and a relationship-led approach that keeps teams committed when capacity is stretched across the city.
That long-standing relationship between Khansaheb and DWTC also shaped the delivery playbook. With fixed event dates, the programme cannot simply “push” risk to the end. Howard’s emphasis is on getting ahead of it early: collaborating closely with consultants to make the design more buildable, accelerating structural progress to protect the back end, and keeping the site moving through cooperative problem-solving rather than contractual friction. He describes the intent clearly as a “collaborative and non-contractual teamwork approach,” designed to keep decisions fast and momentum intact.
What doesn’t change, even when the schedule is tight, are the non-negotiables. Howard is explicit that “safety and quality” are not adjustable variables, calling them “non-negotiable requirements.” In practical terms, that means disciplined control of workmanship, inspections, and sign-offs, even when the pressure is highest. It also means treating testing and commissioning as core workstreams, not end-of-project formality. In Howard’s framing, commissioning is not something you squeeze in at the end; it is something you plan for from the start, because the building’s performance is what ultimately carries the venue through live operations.
Quality at speed, he adds, is less about heroic effort and more about repeatable standards. The way to hold the line is to agree on benchmarks early and enforce consistency. He points to the importance of mock-ups and agreed minimum standards as an anchor for the whole supply chain, so teams don’t improvise under time pressure, and defects don’t multiply in the final weeks.
In the final run-in to significant events, priorities become very clear. Public-facing areas, VIP routes, circulation and logistics zones, and the core building systems that need approvals must be complete, checked, and operating reliably. Howard’s logic is simple: a venue cannot pretend to be ready. It is either safe, commissioned, and functional—or it is not.
Asked what this delivery ultimately demonstrates, Howard returns to fundamentals: the only way to hit a fixed date on a complex job is through a dedicated team, an intense preconstruction phase, and a supply chain that can perform under sustained intensity. The programme, he suggests, is proof of capability, but also proof of method: clarity, coordination, and disciplined delivery—where “event-ready” is treated as a technical standard, not a slogan.
As featured in Construction Business News ME February 2026 edition