Investigating Causes of Construction Delay in Ethiopian Construction Industries (original) (raw)

Construction delays are occurring in every phase of a construction project and are common problems in construction projects in Ethiopia. Moreover, it is well known that the delays in construction projects are the major causes of project failure. If the delay is not identified and the corrective project management decision is not taken in time a project may incur extra cost and extension of project time, which gives rise to dissatisfaction to all the parties involved and nowadays it's becoming a major obstruction for their development for developing countries like Ethiopia. This research first identified 88 key factors causing delay in Ethiopian construction industries, and then the most common and critical causes of construction delay were evaluated by using both the data collected in a survey of construction managers, resident engineers, contractors, and clients, and interviews with senior professionals in the field. The findings show that the main critical factors that cause construction delays in Ethiopia are: (1) Difficulties in financing project by a contractor; (2) Escalation of the materials price; (3) Infective project planning; (4) Scheduling or resource management; (5) Delay in progress payments for completed works, (6) Lack of skilled professionals in the field of construction management in the organization, and (7) Fluctuating labor availability season to season /Seasonal labors availability. This study shows that in Ethiopia only 8.25% projects have been finished to the original targeted completion date. The remaining 91.75% delayed 352% of its contractual time. This paper finally came up with solutions towards reducing the impact of delays on construction projects in Ethiopia.