Delivering a Mega Construction Project Successfully During a National Crisis: Lessons Learned From The Aswan High Dam Construction Project

Project success is a key topic in project management research. This study contributes to this topic by presenting how projects succeed during difficult circumstances of national crises. The occurrence of a crisis leads to the emergence of new dynamics and constraints that affect projects. Success strategies pursued then are different from those employed during peacetime. This research takes the Aswan High Dam project in Egypt in the 1960s as a case study and reveals four strategies supporting ten success factors that helped that project to succeed during a period of national crises. Links to contemporary projects are presented, together with recommendations to enhance the understanding and likelihood of successful project delivery during a national crisis period.