Research On Risk Factors Leading To Delay In Road Engineering Construction Projects In Rwanda

Road construction projects in Rwanda are exposed to a wide variety of risk factors causing delay including change of scope,right of way,insufficient funds,poor project management,adverse weather condition,construction and financial related risks.The very crucial concern of the project management is to keep and attain the project objectives through minimizing and exposing risks and uncertainties that impede the successful project delivery.This research deeply analyze the main risk factors that leading to road engineering construction project delays in Rwanda,evaluate their effects on the projects,and possible mitigation measures.The study utilized Relative Importance Index(RII)method in analyzing and ranking data from respondents.Insufficient funds,adverse weather conditions,inefficient communication,change of scope,inaccurate and incomplete specifications,lack of coordination,unexpected geological conditions,rework due to errors,contractors' financial difficulties,shortage of required equipment are the major risk factors;cost overrun,time overrun,dispute and claims,total abandonment of the project and negative social impacts are the major negative effects resulted from project delay;measures like: increased communication and transparency,having a collaborative and integrated team,increase manpower and/or equipment,close supervision,the use of BIM(building information modelling)and realistic scheduling of the project were ranked the top of mitigation measures to the risks of delay.This study found that adverse weather conditions and financial problems such as cash flow problems are main risk factors for the delay through a case study on a road construction project that was delayed for three months in Rwanda.This study concluded that good risk management must be the main goal of all the parties involved in the projects execution and proper risk plan has to be designed and taken.Therefore,this study suggested to identify,assess and mitigate the risks of delay from the very early stage of the project inception before carrying out the project execution.