Abstract:
Cost overrun in building construction projects is a ubiquitous problem which affects project completion and general
performance with regards to quality, time and cost and known to result to project failures, increased time spent, and
loss of productivity and revenue which in turn affects the economy of the nation. Several determinant factors are
responsible for the undesirable increased cost of a condominium housing project. The aim of this study is to highlight
the determinant factors of condominium housing projects cost overrun; the case of 20/80 condominium housing
projects in Bole sub-city, Addis Ababa. Based on a comprehensive literature review, forty factors which were
believed to cause condominium housing projects cost overrun were shortlisted and were categorized into four major
groups namely, contractor related, consultant related, client related and external/other factors. The survey was done
in order to have the stakeholder’s opinion on identifying and ranking the most common factors causing project cost
overruns and their effects on housing projects in the sub-city. In conducting the study, both exploratory and
descriptive research design with quantitative and qualitative research approaches were adopted. A total of 77
questionnaires were distributed to contractors, consultants and clients which are considered as the target population
of the study and 72 were collected for analysis and interviews were made with most concerned stakeholders. The
selection of respondents was made by using purposive sampling technique. Some mitigation strategies were
proposed. The data obtained was analyzed statistically. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to see the
determinants of cost overrun. Relative importance index and mean score methods were used to find out the most
significant factors affecting cost overrun. The overall results of the finding show that the most significant factor of
cost overrun based on RII was market inflation with a RII value of 0.781. Similarly, regression model indicates from
the overall factors of cost overrun, external/ other factors affect cost overrun of condominium housing projects
significantly. Finally, the necessary conclusions and recommendations were made
