INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

What's moving the project world.

Curated industry news for project professionals — AI, certification, project controls and careers. We summarise and link you to the source.

Project Controls

Only 2% of owners fully trust the schedules they are given

From 120,000 CPM schedules and around 10,000 survey responses: just 2% of owners are very confident in the schedules they receive, and only 24% of contractors believe their own updates reflect site reality. Projects that slip without a recovery plan finish roughly 2.5 times worse, while teams using systematic schedule analytics cut delay by more than 60%.

Source: SmartPM — State of Construction Scheduling 2026Read the source →

More than 40% of agentic AI projects are forecast to be cancelled by 2027

Escalating costs, unclear business value and inadequate risk controls are the named causes. Only 17% of organisations have deployed AI agents so far, while more than 60% expect to within two years. The gap between a convincing pilot and a system anyone will sign off on is where most of the budget goes.

Source: Forbes · on Gartner researchRead the source →

Megaprojects

Saudi Arabia is now openly rescoping Vision 2030 delivery

The economy minister has said projects may be shifted, delayed or rescoped, and the finance minister that the kingdom will defer or cancel programmes where they no longer show economic value. A deficit of roughly $44bn is forecast for 2026. Portfolio discipline, not ambition, is the constraint now.

Source: Gulf International ForumRead the source →

Megaprojects

Data-centre capital spending is set to approach $750bn this year

The fourteen largest publicly owned data-centre operators are projected to spend close to $750 billion in 2026, against just under $450 billion in 2025. More than 23 GW of capacity was under construction globally at the last count, roughly three quarters of it in the United States.

Source: BloombergNEFRead the source →

Workforce

South Asia's construction talent gap could double by 2035

PMI's construction talent research puts the regional shortfall at 291,000 project professionals today, rising to 558,000 by 2035 under high-growth scenarios. India alone is projected to need close to 395,000 construction project professionals.

Source: PMI · via The TribuneRead the source →

AI is becoming a project delivery collaborator, not just an assistant

The defining shift for 2026 is agentic, predictive AI — real-time risk alerts, AI-assisted estimate development, cost benchmarking and schedule forecasting. At AACE 2026, applying AI to project controls was the dominant theme, with one clear takeaway: the differentiator isn't whether you have AI tools, but whether your data and workflows let them actually help.

Source: AACE / Cleopatra EnterpriseRead the source →

Standards

PMI releases its first global standard for AI in project management

A first-of-its-kind standard on how AI should be designed, governed, deployed and overseen across portfolios, programmes and projects — the reference point for anyone introducing AI into delivery. We summarise; full credit to the source.

Source: PMI · via PM Global NewsRead the source →

Megaprojects

NEOM's The Line is being rescoped — a masterclass in delivery reality

Internal reviews point to mounting delays and inflated costs; the 170 km linear city is expected to shrink to a version using infrastructure already in place, and a ~$1B tunnelling contract has been cancelled. Ambition matters — but so do baselines.

Source: EuronewsRead the source →

Project Controls

Megaprojects still overrun — and it's execution, not scope

Roughly 9 in 10 infrastructure projects run over budget, and McKinsey found poor execution drove cost and time overruns in 73% of troubled megaprojects. A 2026 study showed the factors that actually predict overruns are the ones within the manager's control — which is exactly why disciplined project controls and daily forecasting matter more than ever.

Source: McKinsey & CompanyRead the source →

Careers

The data-centre boom is reshaping project careers

Data-centre project managers are commanding a median of about $158k in 2026, with PMs, project executives and chief estimators tied to data-centre work seeing the strongest salary pressure in construction. A signal for anyone planning their next move.

Source: The Birm Group — 2026 Construction Salary SurveyRead the source →

Workforce

Construction may need 2.5 million more project professionals by 2035

PMI's 2026 research estimates construction alone may require nearly 2.5 million additional project professionals by 2035 — with credentials like CCM, PMI-CP, CCP and EVMP mapped to where the demand lands. The gap is your opportunity.

Source: PMI research · via APMICRead the source →

Certification

PMI's new PMP exam and renamed PDU categories are live

Launched July 2026, the PMP exam reweights toward Business Environment (8% to 26%) and the Talent Triangle is renamed to Ways of Working, Power Skills and Business Acumen. Qualifying experience now counts from the last 10 years. Every DeliverIQ session is built to help you earn PDUs across all three new categories.

Source: Project Management InstituteRead the source →

Careers

The project talent gap is widening — and certification pays

PMI projects the world will need 25 million more project professionals by 2030, with demand for project talent growing 64% through 2035. Certification remains a clear differentiator: PMP-certified professionals report roughly 17% higher median salaries. Upskilling now is one of the safest career bets in the profession.

Source: PMI Talent Gap ReportRead the source →

DeliverIQ summarises publicly reported industry news and links to the original source. All trademarks and reporting belong to their respective owners.

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