Causes-effects relationship of construction project delays in Ghana: Focusing on local government projects

Abstract

Project delays in the construction industry are a worldwide phenomenon and local government construction projects in Ghana are not an exception. The paper presents the results of a survey conducted to identify and assess the severity of the causes of local government construction project delays and their effect in Ghana. In previous research, the causes and the effects of project delays has been studied without considering the possible relationship that exist between them. This study takes a combined approach and also sought to analyze the relationship between specific causes on specific effects. The results of the study revealed the main causes of schedule delays in local government construction projects as: delay in progress payments; variation orders during construction; difficulties in financing projects by contractors; delay in material delivery; and unforeseen site conditions. The study further identified the effects of delay as: time overrun; cost overrun; delay by contractor in repayment of loans; disputes; and poor quality work due to speeding up of work. The study also established an empirical correlation between each cause and effect. The study revealed that bulk of the effects of delay of local government construction projects is triggered by client-related and contractor-related causes.