Towards a sustainable construction industry: Delays and cost overrun causes in construction projects of Oman

Abstract

Every nation in the globe endeavours to achieve sustainable growth in its various industries. The construction industry has an enormous contribution to the economy primarily for the developed nations experiencing urgent demands to develop and expand their infrastructure. While this expansion is taking place through projects, it is essential to find the factors affecting completion of project premium. This paper investigates the main time delay and cost overrun causes in construction projects within Oman related to clients, contractors, and consultants. Through a comprehensive literature review, reasons for delays and cost overrun are determined and a survey targeting 100 project managers was conducted to indicate top causes among them. The findings may help the government develop better policy and construction firms to modify criteria procedures to avoid such drawbacks.

Exploring the Nature and Impact of Client-Related Delays on Contemporary Saudi Construction Projects

“…A study covering 37 construction companies in Pakistan, and which ranked the sources of construction delay, placed them in this order: (1) contractor, (2) owner/client, (3) consultants, (4) materials, and (5) equipment [18]. In Oman, it was found that client-side construction project delays are caused primarily by changing the scope of works, slowness of decision making, poor communication with stakeholders, and delayed progress payments [19]. Some delays are caused by supply chain factors (e.g., designers, contractors, and labor); natural phenomena (e.g., weather); and client-related factors, which in KSA, have been found to include recurrent design changes by clients and poor execution of works by the lowest bidding contractor as inherent in the KSA tendering system for public sector projects and delays in approving contracts [20].…”

Causas de retraso en la construcción de proyectos de agua potable y alcantarillado en Ecuador

“…Así mismo, en Omán las principales causas para los retrasos, relacionadas con el promotor fueron los cambios en el alcance de proyecto, demora en la toma de decisiones y modificaciones a los diseños, y concernientes al contratista fueron la falta de mano de obra y profesionales experimentados, una deficiente administración del contrato y demora en la entrega de materiales [18]. Por otra parte, en Qatar, una investigación realizada respecto de los retrasos y sobrecostos en proyectos de construcción pública de vialidad, edificación y drenaje, determinó que la incidencia de retrasos no fue dependiente del tipo, categoría y tamaño de los proyectos, pero sí respecto de la duración de los mismos [19].…”

Oil and Gas Projects in Sultanate of Oman: Construction Schedule and Cost Overrun

“…The participants experiences have major impact on the implementation of projects with great speed and completion on time without increasing costs and schedule. Lack of experience has a great impact on the life cycle of the project, which leads to project delays and an increase in the schedule and costs due to the lack of adequate experience in managing the projects (Amri & Marey-Pérez, 2020). In addition, accurate planning is very important to avoid any additional costs.…”