RURAL WATER SUPPLY CONSTRUCTION PROJECT DELAYS: CAUSES, EFFECTS, AND SOLUTIONS IN A CASE STUDY OF WEST ARSI ZONE, OROMIA REGION

Abstract

The Ethiopian government wants to improve safe water supply and sanitation in rural and urban areas and invest more resources in water-related infrastructure. It implements many water supply projects across the country each year, funded by local funds and foreign donor funds. Many of these projects are experiencing major delays, affecting the socio-economic development of the country. Delays occur in most construction projects and the magnitude of these delays varies considerably from one project to another. Although there are many tools and techniques available for project management, the critical problems concerning the projects implemented by both Government and NGOs in West Arsi Zone are most of the construction projects suffer from delay. Many water projects on going on the study area, but the coverage for water in the study area is 50% (2019) due to delay of the completion time of projects. Hence, there is a need of study to address this issue immediately and help the project management team understand and better manage delays. This study aims to identify the causes and effects of delays in construction of rural water supply projects in West Arsi Zone and suggest solutions for better understanding of the identified major delays in the study. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to the selected sample of professionals representing both clients and contractors who are engaged in the construction of rural water supply projects. Twenty-seven construction professionals were responded and the ranking of the factors were done based on severity, frequency of occurrence and importance. Key informant interviews with 12 experienced experts in the construction sector for mitigating the major delays were conducted. Results of the analysis of the responses to the questionnaire indicate that; Ineffective project planning and scheduling, poor site management and supervision of the project by the contractor followed by delay in progress payments (Funding problems) by the owner, and Shortage of construction materials. Moreover, the Mode of financing and payment for completed work by the owner, Escalation of material price, frequent equipment breakdowns, Ineffective delay penalties, late delivery of materials, and inadequate planning are other critical factors that contribute to construction delays. The quantitative collected data further analyzed by establishing the regression tools of the various factors identified as causes for project implementation delay. On the other hand time overruns, cost overruns, total project abandonment, claims litigation with other parties and disputes are among the most important effects due to delay. The study finally suggested solutions for the major delay factors using experienced professionals that current project planning and time control could improve by adopting the right tools, assigning the appropriate staff. They also implied that delay factor managed by proactive planning on alternative resources, appropriate allocation of resources, application of timely knowledge based decisions, and adoption and application of suitable methodologies and resources at the right place and time coupled with provision of continuous training for the staff.