Assessment of risk factors causing delays in road construction in Egypt

Abstract

Delays are a common problem in the global construction industry, affecting the development of the road construction industry, particularly in developing countries. Where, the construction industry faces a lot of risk factors that can contribute to project delays, particularly during COVID-19. The road projects risk management framework was used to identify potential risk categories that could impede the success of road construction in Egypt. On the other hand, road construction in Egypt faces numerous challenges with increasing unexpected parameters throughout the project life cycle. In other words, unanticipated risk factors have a significant impact on the success of project execution. As a result, the study’s primary goals are to investigate the majority of the risk factors that cause road construction delays in Egypt. The impact of numerous risk factors has changed the delays in road projects as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the world. As a result, the study incorporates previously unstudied factors. As well, the research has sought to investigate the new severity of risk factors during coronavirus infection. Moreover, risk breakdown structures have classified the risk factors into several categories. They include consultant risk, design risk, equipment risk, material risk, owner risk, contract risk, contractor risk, labor risk, external risk [coronavirus effects and others] and operational risk. The strategy employed in the paper is to incorporate the DEMATEL technique and risk analysis into the statistical model. Whereas the risk analysis prioritizes risk based on the evaluation of each specific project risk. Additionally, this approach has been able to create connections between risks, which may make it easier to understand the likelihood and severity of project risk than if the risks were just considered isolated events. Furthermore, the pilot survey is divided into two stages, the first of which is based on risk analysis to identify the most significant risks. As a result, the identification of the high-risk for each category has been researched. The second survey was issued to risk management by evaluating the importance of risk factors and creating causal relationships among components using the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) approach. Finally, it is noticed that operational risk and external risk caused by the effects of the coronavirus have the greatest impact on the delay of road projects.