Critical causes of time overrun in Indian construction projects and mitigation measures

Abstract

ABSTRACTConstruction projects are the fuel for economic growth of any nation as they provide the essential requirements of housing, transportation, connectivity, and social infrastructure. India is in need of rapid infrastructure development. However, construction projects in India are plagued by a global phenomenon––“Delays/Time overruns”. Projects in India continue to suffer excessive delays. To identify the root causes of delay specifically in different type of projects, the projects were categorized based on the type and causes for each project type viz., transportation, power, buildings, and water/irrigation sector were identified. A questionnaire survey was conducted among the major contractors, owners and consultants in India to determine the critical causes of delay. Sixty causes of delay identified from literature were selected for the study and ranked using the Importance Index (II). Financial related causes viz., delay in settlement of claims by owner, contractor’s financial difficulties, delay in payment for extra work/variations and late payment from contractor to subcontractors/suppliers were found to be the most critical causes of delay in all the type of projects. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior professionals of Indian construction industry and exhaustive mitigation measures for top causes of delay were also developed to overcome them. These mitigation measures will serve as a checklist of best practices and will aid project managers and professionals to control delay causes and improve construction project delivery.