An Investigation into the Causes of Delay and Cost Overrun

Title: An Investigation into the Causes of Delay and Cost Overrun in Uganda’s Public Sector Construction Projects
Authors: Ruth Apolot, Henry Alinaitwe, Dan Tindiwensi
Keywords:
Issue Date: 2008
Abstract:

There is great concern for delays and cost overruns as most of the public construction projects are implemented using tax payers’ money. At the national and international levels, there is a lot of debate on how to minimise project delays and cost overruns. The main objective of this study was to investigate the causes of construction project delays and cost overruns in Uganda’s public sector. Specifically, the study was intended to identify the causes and rank them according to their frequency, severity and importance. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) was taken as a case study as a means of validating the results from the survey. Frequency index, severity index and importance index were computed and the factors were ranked for all the twenty factors. The five most important causes of delays in construction projects were found to be: change of work scope; delayed payments; poor monitoring and control; high cost of capital; political instability/insecurity. The relationship between the factors that cause delays and those that cause cost overrun was found to be moderate. Recommendations were made for improved project management; change from the traditional contract type to the design-build type; and improved cash flow on the part of the client so as to reduce payment delays. The results of this research should help construction

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