Causes of government construction projects’ abandonment

Isaac Sakyi Damoah,Anthony Ayakwa,Desmond Kwadjo Kumi

doi:10.5267/j.jpm.2021.5.004

Abstract

Government construction projects are vital to the economic development of developing countries. However, although most of these projects suffer from abandonment, little evidence exists concerning the causes that account for this setback. This paper investigates the causes of government construction project abandonment in Ghana. We used a sequential data collection approach, in-depth semi-structured interviews, and questionnaire surveys to solicit the views of project management practitioners, contractors, and clients associated with Ghana government construction project implementation. Using factor analysis and structural equation modelling, we find that Ghanaian government construction project abandonment is influenced by five sets of causes: political leadership, culture, external forces, resources (including funding) and administrative/institutional bottlenecks. Three of these sets of causes – political leadership, cultural and external forces, are the primary causes, while resources (including funding) and administrative/institutional causes are secondary causes.

Highlights

This research explores the causes of government construction project abandonment in Ghana – an emerging economy
Using factor analysis and structural equation modelling, we find that Ghanaian government construction project abandonment is influenced by five sets of causes: political leadership, culture, external forces, resources and administrative/institutional bottlenecks
Government policies are often translated into programmes and projects (Goodman & Love, 1980) and one key area where these programmes and projects are implemented is within the construction industry (CI)

Summary

Introduction

This research explores the causes of government construction project abandonment in Ghana – an emerging economy. Williams (2016) used archival (secondary) data to provide important evidence on how corruption, clientelism and collective choice explain public sector project abandonment. Our approach directly solicits the views of multiple stakeholders regarding what they perceive to be the causes of government construction project abandonment This data triangulation is necessary to deepen our understanding of stakeholders’ perspectives about the causes of public sector construction project abandonment. We provide evidence for the first time about the main forms of political, cultural and external forces which affect government construction project abandonment in Ghana This result is in contrast to prior studies that report cost overruns, requirement deviation, stakeholder dissatisfaction and collective choice (Williams, 2016; Damoah & Akwei, 2017), as the causes of construction project failure and abandonment. Whereas Rasul and Rogger examined several public sector projects including procurement, training, research, advocacy and building in Nigeria, we focus on public sector construction projects in Ghana

Causes of Construction Projects Abandonment

Methodology

Results

Confirmatory Factor Analysis