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Article
Publication date: 6 December 2021

Henry Duncan John Mwamvani, Christopher Amoah and Emma Ayesu-Koranteng

The study aims to find the causes of road projects implementation delays in Blantyre, one of the four city councils (CCs) in Malawi.

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Abstract

Purpose

The study aims to find the causes of road projects implementation delays in Blantyre, one of the four city councils (CCs) in Malawi.

Design/methodology/approach

The study followed a qualitative research approach using a Blantyre City Council (BCC) as a case study. This study combined in-depth, face-to-face interviews with councillors, secretariat staff, consultants, and contractors who worked on the city's road projects. Data gathered were analysed using thematic content analysis. Also, some road project documents were examined.

Findings

The findings from the case study revealed the primary cause of road project construction delays as the shortage of engineers in conducting detailed proposed projects surveys resulting in incomplete project scope definition before contractor's procurement. Other identified factors were service providers delaying the removal of existing public utility infrastructure from project sites, client funding issues, scope changes, and client delays in issuing instructions to the contractors during project implementation. Another factor was the shortage of construction equipment and construction materials experienced by some appointed contractors.

Research limitations/implications

Only road construction projects and stakeholders operating from Blantyre city, Malawi, were contacted for the study; thus, the findings may not be generalizable.

Practical implications

There is an urgent need to increase technical employees, especially engineers and other critical technical staff such as quantity surveyors in Blantyre. Employees' conditions of service should be conducive to attract qualified people to undertake effective management and assessment of projects before commencement to identify the feasibility of proposed projects to decrease the rate of road construction project delays.

Originality/value

The study has established Blantyre city's core challenges in implementing its road projects seamlessly and has provided mitigation measures for dealing with the shortcomings.

Details

Built Environment Project and Asset Management, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-124X

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Article
Publication date: 2 January 2025

Modish Kumar and Santosh Kumari

This paper aims to evaluate the available research to identify the factors contributing to the delays in road construction projects. The primary goals of this study are to…

36

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to evaluate the available research to identify the factors contributing to the delays in road construction projects. The primary goals of this study are to determine the critical elements that cause delays in road projects, and to investigate the appropriate corrective actions suggested to lessen the delays in road projects. The study also assesses the theoretical background, methodology, limitations and future research prospects suggested in relevant research works related to causes for delays in road construction.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopted systematic literature review in three steps: collecting relevant literature, descriptive analysis and content analysis. This study used keyword analysis and thematic content analysis on some relevant selected studies. NVivo 12 was used for thematic content analysis utilising description-focused coding, the text was thematically analysed, three other software: MS Excel, VOSviewer and Mendeley were also used for analysis in this study.

Findings

The findings revealed that road projects around the world experienced delays and the reasons for delays are many. After the analysis of literature, number of factors causing delays in road projects were identified, which were then divided into seven broad groups using thematic content analysis. The investigation shows that variations in design and inefficient management of project by contractor including inadequate planning and scheduling are the top two factors of delay. The most frequent suggested corrective measure to reduce delay was employing technically competent employees and contractor should conduct thorough survey on his part, rather than just accepting the survey report at face value.

Research limitations/implications

This review paper is addressing the issues related to delays in road construction projects and suggests remedial measure to reduce them. The paper will be useful for researchers, industry professionals, academician and policy makers concerned with the road construction projects. The study conducted the review of selected relevant articles related to causes of delay in road construction projects for qualitative analysis. The research articles using quantitative methods and studies conducted on other types of infrastructure projects were not included; however, findings from this study may be applicable to other construction projects as well.

Practical implications

The findings of this paper are useful in the fields of economy, industry, academia and public policies. The paper thoroughly examined the factors causing delays in highway projects, offering insights for practitioners to identify best practices and mitigation strategies. These findings can guide investment and policy decisions for highway infrastructure projects, promoting a holistic approach to development. Additionally, this paper can help enhance research methods in studies about delays in road infrastructure projects.

Originality/value

The literature review in the paper used a qualitative method. The causes of road project delays, remedial action, context, methodology and theoretical foundation were all examined in this paper.

Details

Journal of Financial Management of Property and Construction, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-4387

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