CRITITICAL FAILURE FACTORS AND PROSPECTIVE SOLUTIONS OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECT IN NIGERIA: CASE OF BIDA–MINNA ROAD PROJECT

Abstract

The study used sequential data collection approach through an in-depth semi-structured interview (16 participants) and questionnaire survey (230 participants) to gather the perceptions of some project management practitioners: contractors, consultants and client on the factors that lead to failure of project in Nigeria with reference to Bida–Minna trunk–B road maintenance project. The Relative Importance Index (RII) was used to determine the relative importance of the factors identified. This was followed by Spearman rank correlation coefficient and Kruskal Wallis test to measure the degree of agreement among the variable perceptions. Thirty five (35) factors were identified as the main factors, the top eleven (11) factors were depicted as primary, ‘money, corruption and politics’, these factors have indexed averagely between 0.702 and 0.793. Secondary, were other management practices within the client’s organizations that impede the success of the project. These unpleasant phenomena were termed as ‘management deficiencies and unorganized bureaucracy protocols’. The average scores of these factors ranges between 0.609 and 0.686.  The least factors were regarded as minor and were referred to as lack of resources and external forces. These factors were averagely rated very-low (0.577and 0.593) by all participants and lack of resources according to the respondents was regarded as insignificant factor causing delay but was linked to the chief delay factors, which can be traced back to insufficient funds to mobilise resources, as such, work progress were hampered on site. Four (4) recommendations were offered among which was that, parliament should make laws that would give independence to technocrats that are charged with the execution of government projects from the political interference.