TIME AND COST OVERRUN IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS: THE SAUDI ARABIAN CONTEXT

Abstract

The main purpose of this research study is to investigate, assess, and determine the factors that cause cost and time overruns in Saudi construction projects. Quantitative research was carried out in the form of a web-based survey. The quantitative data were collected from 32 respondents who work in construction projects in Saudi Arabia. Based on the stated purpose, the current study has developed three objectives: the identification of the factors that result in time overruns or delays and to evaluate their relative importance; the identification of the factors that result in cost overruns and to evaluate their relative importance; and the test of the strength of association between the rankings of the respondent groups.

The study has used a relative importance index (RII) to identify the most significant factors that create time and cost overruns in the projects. Additionally, the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient test was performed to validate the two developed hypotheses. In relation to the first objective, based on the RII, this study has found a total of five causes that create delays in projects, such as delays in the delivery of materials (1st); shortages of materials (2nd); and designers’ design errors (3rd), complexity of the designs (3rd), and low productivity of the manpower (3rd).