Intro to Project Management Hector Diaz
PM3110 7/23/15
Instructor: Muhammad Bashir

Unit 5 Assignment 1; Simulation/Case Study: The Dulhasti Power Plant After reviewing case study 8.1 in unit 5 of the textbook Project Management: Achieving Competitive Advantage (2nd Edition), I was tasked to elaborate on the challenges of delivering an accurate cost estimation when working on harsh geographical conditions. It was observed in the case study that the geographical location chosen for the construction of the Dulhasti Power Plant in the provinces of Jammu and Kashmir, had become too much of a concern for investors and project coordinators, mainly due to a disputed border conflict between India and Pakistan. Not only did the budget increased exponentially over a 20-plus year period (due to the fact that this project was conceived in 1983), but concerns about the local terrorist and nationalist groups in and around the border began to raise numerous questions regarding safety and of course, budgeting (in the sense of hiring extra security to patrol the area). When the Indian government used a fixed-price contract to favor the lowest bids when initially beginning the project, it was believed to be the best method of approach at the time. The reason I point this out is because 40 million dollars for a project of this magnitude in a country such as India (during the early eighties I might add), would be considered reasonable at the time of its inception. I personally do not know much about economics therefore, I will only state my opinion regarding this matter. I also believe that if the Indian government were to bid low for