The Impact of Financial Crisis on Construction Projects - A Case Study: the Erbil Governorate in Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Abstract

A crisis is a sudden situation that occurs because of unforeseeable consequences and unpredictable events. Financial crisis affects all the aspects of life including construction. Construction projects have quite several risks that can have an impact on the project objectives such as cost, time and quality. The objective of this study is to identify how the financial crisis has affected the construction projects in Erbil Governorate in Kurdistan Region of Iraq, by identifying 30 significant factors of financial crisis and their impact in construction projects, identifying 15 financial crisis results and analyzing their impact on cost, time, and quality of construction projects. This has been done through a design of a questionnaire. Data are collected from site visits. The questionnaire has been delivered to 148 stakeholders working in building construction sector in Erbil Governorate. A case study has been adopted for 15 constructed projects during financial crisis in order to to determine the effect of financial crisis on cost and time and to calculate the percentage of cost and time overruns during crisis.