Causes of Delay in Smart Parking Development Projects: The Case of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

The construction industry is one of the main sectors that provide important ingredients for the development of an economy. However, it is getting to be more complex since of the complexity of the construction process itself and the large number of parties involved within the construction process. Delay in construction projects is a global phenomenon that widely recognized issue within the construction industry and considered one of the most common problems causing many negative impacts on the project. This research aims to identify the most significant factors causing delay in smart parking development projects in the city of Addis Ababa. In this research, both primary and secondary data were used. A questionnaire was developed based on previous models, literature reviews, and project local context and expert’s opinion in research and then pre-tested and distributed to the respondents. The questionnaire included 30 predefined factors, which were grouped into six major delay factors group, namely, client, contractor, and consultant, and material, external, and labor-related factors group. To analyze relative importance of the individual causes and the group descriptive statistics such as relative importance index (RII) have been applied. Based on the RII Raking top ten factors were determined and ranked. The results showed that delay in sub-contractor’s work as a major hindrance to timely project completion. In addition, the group of client-related factors group ranked first among the six groups. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine if independent variables (delay factors groups) jointly and individually affect the dependent variable (time overrun). The results of the analysis show that the six delay factors group jointly affects the dependent variable. The explanatory power of the regression model as reported by the R2 was 0.841, which indicates that 84.1% of the variability in the dependent variable was explained by the delay factors group. The study also examined the significant and the extent to which each delay factors group affects the dependent variable. According to the regression model developed in this study labor-related factors group is a variable that has the most dominant effects on delay in completion. The top ten factors causing delay of smart parking development projects were also identified, discussed and compared with similar previous studies to validate and strengthen the findings of this study. Finally, recommendations have been developed for each of the contracting party, namely, clients, contractors, consultants, and subcontractors in order to minimize the delay factors and get the project completed within the planned schedule.