THE EFFECTS OF DELAYS AND DISRUPTION ON THE COST OF BUILDING CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS IN NIGERIA (A CASE STUDY OF ENUGU STATE)

Thesis Overview

1.0   INTRODUCTION1.1   BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY        Most town and cities in Nigeria are dotted with projects that are being delayed, disrupted, and uncompleted.    Explanations giving for the stages of each buildings projects is varied and sometimes attributed to lack of financial, human and material resources with which to execute the projects.       It is common in Nigeria especially now that the country is suffering from depression in the economy.   It is often bad to see huge capital investments being disrupted and abandoned.        Any attempt to delay and disrupt a construction project, will have terrible consequences on every aspect of the nation’s activities which will be severe and unwelcome.        Delays and disruptive in construction has some effects on its cost and very retrogressive in a developing economy like Nigeria and needs to be properly addressed and tackled with all the courage and effort that we can muster.1.2   STATEMENT OF PROBLEM        One of the biggest problems associated with most of the construction projects in Nigeria today is problem of delays and disruptions at both the pre-contract and post-contract stages of construction in building and civil engineering works.        The cost of building increases at the cause of delays and disruption in construction because of variation. many construction project in Enugu needed huge capital outlay and time to execute them and any attempt to delaying and disrupting the construction proper will result to terrible consequences that will affect the economical control and building cost.1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY      The purpose of this study is as follows –

• To investigate into most delayed and disrupted construction projects
• To ascertain the effects of delays and disruptions on cost of building construction.
• To examine the effect of fluctuation in prices on construction projects costs.
• To examine the costs of delayed and disrupted construction project to clients, contractors, the professionals that are engaged and the nation, in particular Enugu state.
• To examine the effects of variation in design on construction project costs.

1.4   RESEARCH QUESTION

1. What are the causes of delays and disruptions in construction projects?
2. What are the effects of delays and disruptions on building construction project cost?
3. Do fluctuations in prices bring about changes in construction project cost?
4. What the costs are of delayed and disrupted construction projects to the clients, contractors, the professionals that are engaged in the field?
5. In what ways can variations in design affect construction cost?

1.5   THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY        This study will be beneficial to the most construction industry in Nigeria because once a project is initiated and manage properly it will eliminate high cost of procurement and a lot profit are involved.  Also this will help in planning and execution of future construction project executions, especially the quantity surveyor in the feasibility and planning stages of a proposed scheme and preparation of work method and schedules by the building manager.      The study also intend to bring together, the causes of construction delays and disruptions and also tries to ascertain the costs, which will help the construction firms, Engineers, Surveyors and construction managers to initialize and control their project without lost or poor management.1.7   DEFINITION OF TERMS             From the Oxford advanced learner’s English dictionary, delay implies the process or action of being slow being late or linger and also explain disruption as the action of making it difficult for something to proceed.Delay – delay in construction can be defined as an act whereby projects execution is slow or interrupted one time or the other, thereby leading to unnecessary extension in the programme of work from what was initially scheduled.Disruption – disruption in construction projects can be defined as an act or sites partially or completely deserted at one time or the other for the reasons of certain exigencies which have resulted in prolonged delays which are not in accordance with the programme of work in use extension of time or postponement as initially scheduled.Cost – the estimated amount of money that will be needed for something or the price that should be charged for something.        Also, it implies the effort, loss or damage that is involved in order to do or achieve something.Construction – the process or method of building or making something, especially road, building, bridges etc.