The Impact of Covid-19 on Project Delivery: A Perspective From the Construction Sector in the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Purpose of study: The study aimed at establishing the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on project delivery in the UAE with a significant focus on the construction industry. The study also sought to determine some of the negative implications of COVID-19 for the construction industry.
 Methodology: The within-subjects research design was employed in the study. Purposive and simple random sampling was used in the selection of the respondents. A total of 116 project managers in the construction industry were sampled for the study. Data was collecting using self-administered online questionnaires. The SPSS software was applied to analyze the collected data using the paired samples t-test analysis method to compare the means of the projected number of days taken to complete a project before and during the COVID-19 period.
 Main Findings: The study findings revealed that there is a statistically significant effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the number of days taken to complete projects in the construction industry in the UAE. The findings of the study revealed that the pandemic resulted in a lack of access to raw materials and labor, thereby leading to a delay in the completion of projects.
 Application of the study: The revelation of the implications would inform the policy and decision-makers in the country to devise effective ways of addressing the challenges for the stability of the sector. The researcher recommends the same study to be replicated in other areas to identify the effects the pandemic has had on other industries. Another study should also be conducted on the effective strategies that should be adopted to address the effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on the construction industry in the UAE.
 Novelty/originality of the study: This is contemporary studies that deal with a current issue. The study concluded that the construction industry became a victim of COVID-19 to the extent that it has brought its projects to a halt and significantly eroded the market of its beneficiaries. Unlike other industries, construction projects cannot accommodate distance working but facing challenges making on-time delivery impossible and therefore construction industry is at risk.

Impact of COVID-19 on project performance in the UAE construction industry

“…Because the construction industry is the backbone of the UAE's economy, measuring the effects of this pandemic on the overall performance of construction projects is of utmost importance (Mashreq, 2020). Ghandour (2020) aimed at establishing the implications of COVID-19 on project delivery from the perspective of the construction industry of the UAE. Results suggested that there is a significant increase in the required days to complete the project owing to the inaccessibility to raw material and labor.…”

“…World leaders are collaborating to introduce and implement measures that garner positive results and ensure a safe environment and the well-being of their citizens to enable economies to gradually revive (Yam et al, 2020). Similarly, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has taken precautionary measures to reinforce the safety of its residents and measures that directly affect the performance of ongoing construction projects (Ghandour, 2020).…”

Resilience to COVID-19 Through Lean Construction

“…Furthermore, Nicola et al (2020) emphasised that the impact of COVID-19 on global healthcare systems has a cascading effect on every area of human existence. In order to halt the spread of COVID-19, governments around the world have implemented a series of preventive steps (Ghandour, 2020), including avoiding unnecessary travel, social distancing, and prohibiting congregations (Nicola et al, 2020). Accordingly, as people, communities, governments, academic institutions, and industrial enterprises grapple with the problems of reducing human life loss in the face of an unseen pandemic, and the practice of social distance has pervaded daily life (Sarkis et al, 2020).…”

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the construction sector, as it has on many other industries, in many different ways (Raoufi and Fayek, 2021). Similarly, Ghandour (2020), andZamani, Rahman, Fauzi, andYusof (2021) agreed that the construction industry has been impacted by COVID-19. 1, there are many challenges for the construction industry as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

“…Consequently, lack of construction materials (Gamil and Alhagar, 2020;Alsharef et al, 2021;Zamani et al, 2021), delays in project delivery (Gamil and Alhagar, 2020;Ghandour, 2020;Oey and Lim, *Corresponding author: Tel: +94 77 6165500 Email Address: aganaparameswaran@gmail.com FARU Journal: Volume 08, Issue 1 DOI: http://doi.org/10.4038/faruj.v8i1.71 2021; King et al, 2021), high cost of constructions (Gamil and Alhagar, 2020;Ogunnusi et al, 2020;Alsharef et al, 2021;Zamani et al, 2021), unprecedented changes to the projects schedules (Alenezi, 2020a;Gamil and Alhagar, 2020;Alsharef et al, 2021;Oey and Lim, 2021) and restrictions to operations (Alenezi, 2020c;Gamil and Alhagar, 2020;Alsharef et al, 2021;King et al, 2021), were considered as noteworthy challenges to the Sri Lankan construction industry due to the pandemic. This has underlined the need of using the resources effectively and efficiently in the project and searching for strategies to overcome the impact of the pandemic.…”