Date: Thursday, October 1, 2026
Presenter: Ehsan Nasiri (GHD) and Keivan Pak Iman (GHD)
Location: ÉTS, pavillon A, room A1600. (1100 Notre Dame West, Montreal)
Time: 5:00 p.m. (Reception) 6:30 p.m. (Presentation)
Registration Cost:
- $15 - Students
- $35 - TAC Members
Presentation Overview: Alternative project delivery models for underground projects: lessons learned and best practices
Abstract:
As North America delivers some of the world's largest transit and underground infrastructure programs, owners are increasingly adopting alternative delivery models to address geotechnical uncertainty, complex stakeholder interfaces, schedule pressures, and evolving project risks. Delivery approaches such as Design-Build (DB), Progressive Design-Build (PDB), Public-Private Partnerships (P3), and Alliance/IPD are reshaping how major tunnelling projects are planned and executed.
This presentation draws on lessons learned from major tunnel projects, as well as GHD's experience supporting owners, contractors, and delivery partners on complex transit and underground infrastructure programs. While technical, commercial, and stakeholder challenges are inevitable on every underground project, successful outcomes are achieved when solutions strike the right balance between contractual obligations, technical requirements, and proactive risk management. Through practical case studies, the presentation demonstrates how different delivery models influence design development, risk allocation, innovation, collaboration, and project delivery, highlighting the industry's shift from traditional risk transfer toward risk sharing, partnership, and integrated problem-solving.
Using examples from major underground infrastructure projects, the presentation illustrates how early contractor involvement, strong governance, multidisciplinary integration, stakeholder alignment, and collaborative decision-making can improve project outcomes and help teams successfully navigate complex underground works. Attendees will gain practical insights into the opportunities, challenges, lessons learned, and best practices associated with alternative delivery models, and how these approaches can support the successful delivery of major tunnelling and underground infrastructure projects.
About the Presenters:
Ehsan Nasiri:
Ehsan is a Technical Project Manager with extensive experience delivering complex underground infrastructure projects. He specializes in TBM and SEM tunnelling and multidisciplinary project leadership, with a proven track record of integrating design, construction, and risk management to address complex challenges, reduce project risks, and deliver successful project outcomes.
Keivan Pak Iman:
Keivan is GHD’s Americas Tunnel Lead with over 20 years of experience delivering major underground infrastructure projects across North America under a range of contract delivery models, including DBB, DBF, DB, CMAR, and PDB. He has led the design and construction of tunnels for utility and transit projects in diverse ground conditions and brings extensive experience in sensitive crossings, urban tunnelling, tunnelling beneath residential buildings, stakeholder and public engagement, and tunnel and shaft cost estimation. His recent project experience includes several multi-billion-dollar programs, including the Yonge North Subway Extension (YNSE), Scarborough Subway Extension (SSE), and Ontario Line South (OLS) in Canada, as well as the Sepulveda Transit Corridor for LA Metro.
