Obstacles of Sustainable Construction Project Management in South Africa Construction Industry

Abstract

Green building is mostly adopted by the private sector or the private property development companies who are enjoying the benefits of it. Hence the study will explore the obstacles impeding the implementation of sustainable project management in the public sector in South Africa. Structured questionnaires were distributed to different construction companies and construction professionals involved in the public projects. From 80 questionnaires distributed, 65 were brought back and they were all valid and usable. Findings from the survey results obtained from the chosen respondents revealed that there is resistance to change from convectional to green practices by organization employees, lack of awareness of green building methods and technologies, absence of dependable exact cost data/information, limited government involvement, the complexity of codes and regulations on green building and sustainable construction, high cost of green building material and also attracts a higher risk of delays in construction. From the findings the government of South Africa needs to play a huge role implementing sustainable construction project management in public buildings, which will benefit the government and the end users and reduce the nation’s carbon emission emanating from construction sector.