• Energy Research

Environment management is one of the key aspects of hydropower development in acquiring sustainable energy. However, there has been limited research demonstrating the overall aspects of environment management of hydropower development with support of sound empirical evidence. In present study, the status of environment management in hydropower development was comprehensively investigated by conducting a case study based on the data collected from a field survey. The results show that, as environment management is largely subject to legal requirements, the environment management system needs to be established by integrating the legal requirements and needs of project implementation. This could potentially reduce the influence of legal restrictions on hydropower development. The main hydropower project environment management processes include identifying key environmental factors, implementation, monitoring, and performance measurement, which deal with environmental issues such as terrestrial and aquatic ecology protection, wastewater treatment, solid waste disposal, and acoustic-environment protection. Project participants should establish partnering relationships to cooperatively deal with environmental impacts of hydropower project development, in which public participation and sufficient resources input into environmental protection are essential for project success. The results of this study provide a sound basis for participants to deal with the key issues of environmental protection such as meeting legal requirements, training for improving environment management process, cost control, and cooperative environment management. The results of this study could help practitioners to tackle the interactions among project delivery, environmental protection, and engagement of local communities in an optimized way with the aim of maximizing effectiveness of the resources of all participants.

Environment management is one of the key aspects of hydropower development in acquiring sustainable energy. However, there has been limited research demonstrating the overall aspects of environment management of hydropower development with support of sound empirical evidence. In present study, the status of environment management in hydropower development was comprehensively investigated by conducting a case study based on the data collected from a field survey. The results show that, as environment management is largely subject to legal requirements, the environment management system needs to be established by integrating the legal requirements and needs of project implementation. This could potentially reduce the influence of legal restrictions on hydropower development. The main hydropower project environment management processes include identifying key environmental factors, implementation, monitoring, and performance measurement, which deal with environmental issues such as terrestrial and aquatic ecology protection, wastewater treatment, solid waste disposal, and acoustic-environment protection. Project participants should establish partnering relationships to cooperatively deal with environmental impacts of hydropower project development, in which public participation and sufficient resources input into environmental protection are essential for project success. The results of this study provide a sound basis for participants to deal with the key issues of environmental protection such as meeting legal requirements, training for improving environment management process, cost control, and cooperative environment management. The results of this study could help practitioners to tackle the interactions among project delivery, environmental protection, and engagement of local communities in an optimized way with the aim of maximizing effectiveness of the resources of all participants.

Chinese contractors undertaking international projects are frequently criticized for their poor Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) performance. It is noticed that people with different occupations may perceive OHS differently. From a qualitative perspective, this study investigates the perceived OHS performances of design managers and construction managers engaged in Chinese overseas construction projects, considering a range of subgroups classified by people’s overseas experience, project size, project industry, project location, and firm size. The analysis was based on an e-questionnaire survey that sampled responses from 52 design managers and 160 construction managers involved in 110 international projects, and face-to-face interviews with 26 managers. The findings indicate that the assessment variation of OHS performance between design managers and construction managers is not only related to their different mental ways, but also can be mediated by their in-progress communication and affected by project and organizational conditions. The varying OHS performance in projects with different sizes or from different regions also suggests that Chinese contractors should be more proactive in OHS management instead of passively responding to external requirements.

Chinese contractors undertaking international projects are frequently criticized for their poor Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) performance. It is noticed that people with different occupations may perceive OHS differently. From a qualitative perspective, this study investigates the perceived OHS performances of design managers and construction managers engaged in Chinese overseas construction projects, considering a range of subgroups classified by people’s overseas experience, project size, project industry, project location, and firm size. The analysis was based on an e-questionnaire survey that sampled responses from 52 design managers and 160 construction managers involved in 110 international projects, and face-to-face interviews with 26 managers. The findings indicate that the assessment variation of OHS performance between design managers and construction managers is not only related to their different mental ways, but also can be mediated by their in-progress communication and affected by project and organizational conditions. The varying OHS performance in projects with different sizes or from different regions also suggests that Chinese contractors should be more proactive in OHS management instead of passively responding to external requirements.

Research on risk management in Engineering–Procurement–Construction (EPC) projects has received increasing attention. It is essential to integrate the resources of all participants into the risk management process optimally from the perspective of evolutionary games. The conceptual risk management model in the delivery of international EPC projects is developed in the study. Based on the data from an industry survey, the model has been validated. The path analysis shows that partnering not only directly contributes to interface management and risk management, thereby improving project outcomes, but also has a positive impact on risk management through enhanced interface management. The case study illustrates how partnering has a close linkage with interface management and risk management to achieve superior project performance, confirming the analysis of evolutionary game. The results suggest that contractors’ success in applying partnership can play an exemplary role for other contractors, and governments can create a favorable environment to stimulate participants using win–win philosophy for better infrastructure development.

Research on risk management in Engineering–Procurement–Construction (EPC) projects has received increasing attention. It is essential to integrate the resources of all participants into the risk management process optimally from the perspective of evolutionary games. The conceptual risk management model in the delivery of international EPC projects is developed in the study. Based on the data from an industry survey, the model has been validated. The path analysis shows that partnering not only directly contributes to interface management and risk management, thereby improving project outcomes, but also has a positive impact on risk management through enhanced interface management. The case study illustrates how partnering has a close linkage with interface management and risk management to achieve superior project performance, confirming the analysis of evolutionary game. The results suggest that contractors’ success in applying partnership can play an exemplary role for other contractors, and governments can create a favorable environment to stimulate participants using win–win philosophy for better infrastructure development.

International economic cooperation accelerates the flow of capital, technology, labor, and other factors between different countries, which promotes global sustainable development. Building infrastructure construction is an important way to strengthen social development, and absorbing foreign capital is an effective way for developing countries to improve their infrastructure and to promote economic development. This study puts forward the factors that have influenced China’s investment in international engineering projects, and it constructs a panel data regression model for empirical testing. The study shows that, first, international infrastructure investment tends to select countries or regions with good condition of highway infrastructure. Second, international infrastructure investment tends to choose countries or regions with low development level of port and power infrastructure. Third, bilateral diplomatic visits play a significant role in promoting international infrastructure investment. Fourth, international infrastructure investment tends to choose countries or regions with good resource endowment. This study reveals the influencing factors and the mechanisms for the choices of location for China’s investment in international engineering projects, providing a theoretical framework for investors to optimize international infrastructure investment and management, as well as providing the policy references for developing countries to attract international infrastructure investment.