logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2023
18m 11s

Why big projects go wrong

Bbc World Service
About this episode

From the Sydney Opera House to a basic kitchen renovation there are thousands of examples of construction projects large and small which go horribly over budget.

Professor Bent Flyvbjerg has compiled a database of 16,000 projects, and by his reckoning only 8.5% them meet their initial estimates of cost and time. He talks to Sam Fenwick about his new book, “How Big Things Get Done”.

Presenter / producer: Sam Fenwick Image: Sydney opera house; Credit: Getty Images

Up next
Jul 9
Taking Stock: Is Trump happier with Nato on defence spending?
Will Bain is joined by Seijiro Takeshita in Japan and Yael Selfin in the UK to discuss the week's biggest business stories. As Nato members agree to greater defence spending, we examine how economic conditions in the UK and Japan are shaping their ability to fund these commitment ... Show More
23m 54s
Apr 7
Headspace: from mindfulness app to military partner
Headspace started life as a mindfulness app. Now it's partnering with the US Navy and investing in artificial intelligence for mental health support.The company's CEO Tom Pickett speaks to us about therapy, the increasing role of technology, and tackling burnout at scale.If you'd ... Show More
17m 28s
Apr 7
Anthropic: the $300bn AI firm at war with the White House
Anthropic’s rise from startup to one of the world’s leading players in artificial intelligence has been staggering, but so in recent weeks has been its row with the US Government.Today, we look at that journey to becoming a 380 billion dollar company, ask why Claude has become on ... Show More
17m 28s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2024
Why Project-Based Work Fails — and How to Get It Right
Companies of every size across the world are basing more of their work around projects, but research shows that nearly two-thirds of those efforts fail. Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez has studied projects and project management for decades. He argues that at least some of the blame for ... Show More
25m 34s
Jun 2023
Project Cost Review
<p>How do you know if a project bid is good? On today’s show we are talking about how to value engineer a project.</p> <p>We’re going to look at a project that has a firm bid on it. Overall, the construction bid seemed to be fairly reasonable in terms of total price per square fo ... Show More
5m 36s
Nov 2021
The Future of Work Is Projects—So You’ve Got to Get Them Right
Companies of every size in every industry and part of the world are basing more of their work around projects. And yet research shows that nearly two-thirds of those efforts fail. Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, who has studied projects and project management for decades, explains how w ... Show More
23m 56s
Mar 2025
Saudi Arabia's Megaproject Disaster!
Saudi Arabia's Neom megaprojects are running into major financial problems according to The Wall Street Journal.After more than $50 billion dollars has been spent the fantasy city has collided with reality.Costs have soared, delays are constant, and the capital expenditure estima ... Show More
18m 59s
Apr 2023
Why Your Projects Are Always Late — and What to Do About It (Ep. 323 Replay)
<p>Whether it’s a giant infrastructure plan or a humble kitchen renovation, it’ll inevitably take way too long and cost way too much. That’s because you suffer from “the planning fallacy.” (You also have an “optimism bias” and a bad case of overconfidence.) But don’t worry: we’ve ... Show More
42m 58s
Mar 2018
323. Here’s Why All Your Projects Are Always Late — and What to Do About It
<p>Whether it's a giant infrastructure plan or a humble kitchen renovation, it'll inevitably take way too long and cost way too much. That's because you suffer from “the planning fallacy.” (You also have an “optimism bias” and a bad case of overconfidence.) But don't worry: we've ... Show More
41m 13s
Sep 2024
Behind the Walls: Exposing Poor Building Standards
In this week’s Talking Wealth podcast, Dale gets behind the glitz of property investing to highlight the poor building standards that affect investor returns. Building a home is the biggest expense anyone will have, so when your dream home or dream investment is built poorly the ... Show More
44m 19s
May 2023
The Number One Underwriting Mistake
<p>On today’s show we are talking about one of the most overlooked line items in a property budget. This is the dreaded repairs and maintenance line. </p> <p>Operating budgets make reasonable assumptions about the natural timeframe for equipment replacement, and the lifetime for ... Show More
5m 56s
Jun 2022
Construction Chaos
<p>On today’s show we are talking about bad behaviour in the world of construction.</p> <p>When you are building anything in the world of construction, whether it’s a light renovation or a high rise building, you will experience the full spectrum of responses from suppliers and t ... Show More
4m 56s
Mar 2020
Oops I Forgot
<p>On today’s show we’re talking about how to make sure the budget for a construction project has integrity. I regularly receive questions from new developers looking to grow from buy-hold investment into new construction. The first thing I ask for is to see their budget and the ... Show More
4m 59s