CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS DELAY IN NIGER STATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Abstract

Economic development in every nation is based on construction projects undertaken through several types of contracts. However, construction industry is suffering from delay phenomenon. The causes and effects of delay in construction projects seem critical and if not handled appropriately, it could result to wastage and underutilization of resources. This has contributed to negative impact on stakeholders in the construction industry. This research aimed to appraise the main causes and effects of delay on tertiary institution construction projects with a view to minimizing its causes and improve project delivery, examine the factors responsible for project delay in educational institution in Niger state. 150 structured questionnaires were used and distributed to the following professionals in the construction industry: (Architect, Quantity surveyor, Project manager, contractor and civil engineer) and 135 were retrieved for computation of the result and discussion. Analytical techniques such as mean, ranking, correlation, t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA), were used to analyze the data. The result showed that insufficient funding, non-payment of completed works, cash flow problem during construction and interference with project performance are the major factors that causes delay in educational institutions construction project. The mitigation measures in their order of importance are: use of appropriate construction method, systematic control mechanisms, proper emphasis on the past experience and developing human resources in the construction industry. The research also concluded that the major effects of construction delay are abandonment of the building projects, adequate planning, variation of project scope, incompetent project manager and delay in progress payment by the clients. Furthermore, the research also concluded, that there is a positive relationship between client related factor and all other related factors that causes delays. However, the research recommended that appropriate construction method and systematic control mechanism should be used appropriately for effective management of construction project in addition, an effective strategies management approach should be adopted at the top management of construction industry. through proper planning and scheduling