AN EVALUATION OF CHALLENGES IN ON-GOING CONSTRUCTIONS PROJECTS IN NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY OF ABUJA CITY

AN EVALUATION OF CHALLENGES IN ON-GOING CONSTRUCTIONS PROJECTS IN NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY OF ABUJA CITY.

ABSTRACT

A major challenge to the construction practice in construction project in Nigeria is the apparent lack of knowledge on factors posing threat to construction processes. This knowledge-gap hinders construction experts to finish construction designs on time, completion of works and inflate price at the end of projects.This research was done evaluating the challenges of ongoing construction projects produce a result of challenges encountered in the construction projects, factor causing these challenges, the remedial/preventive measures to the challenges and also ranked the remedial/preventive measures in accordance to the degree of their importance. This research also determine how these challenges affect completion time and price of projects. The results of the descriptive research confirmed project conflict among professionals; poor purchasing management; poor leading and controlling skills; weather and climate changes; lack of health and safety practices; cost of material and labour; changes made by client; cost of purchasing equipment; poor organising skills; lack of proper supervision; changes in client brief as threat in construction projects. It was recommended that professionals in construction projects should inculcate the following in their construction programme: Resolving conflict that might spring up to improve communication and make sure that reliable and effective suppliers are involved in the construction stage; proper supervision of each construction stages and good working environment for workers on site; Improved health and safety plans making sure this plan are in use and improve quality control/market survey before and during construction; Complete and certified design and drawings should be provided and provision of incentive to impress faithful workers; Challenges faced on construction projects should be well managed to avoid inflation in project price and time over run.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0  INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

The construction industry in Nigeria is a huge money industry and every year they meet up with the expectation of well to do contractors who bid for construction projects. Years back construction industry has possesses increasing regular purchasing power and excessive income for most construction companies in Nigeria. This is noticed with some public companies like Dantata, Julius Berger Plc., which have good success in terms of profits. Many others which are not publicly noted are increasingly expanding their operation to challenge these publicly noted construction companies. This growing construction companies have the chance of handling big projects like the road construction, and lot more. Not long ago some development projects by government and private companies have created opportunities for construction companies to yield enough profit and revenues. For example, most states of Nigeria infrastructural projects like road reconstruction, housing projects, bridges, building, construction of drainage, dams, rural electrification, city expansion and beautification projects among others have been on the increase in Abuja city and other city around, which help to generate huge amount of money in the labour market.

According to Hill & Bowen (1997), the social attributes of sustainable construction involves the issue of poverty and inequality. The idea in social sustainability is to increase standard of living by ensuring secure and adequate consumption of basic needs, which are food, clothing, shelter, health, and beyond that by ensuring comfort, identity and choice in built environment. Some characteristics of the construction industry pose challenges to its management and organization of personality trait. The industry is broken in pieces, often with a highly mobile workforce. The products are fixed while the process is flowing. The arrangement of participants to execute the project often involves grouping together of disparate and different organizations, professional and commercial entities into what is termed temporary multi-organizations (Zhang & Hu 2011). The industry is also faced with the challenges of addressing both company and project levels of management, especially in construction contracting. The participants in the construction industry include clients, consultants and contractors. Each of these participants may be organizations with differing loyalties and goals. The construction project, however, brings them together. The backwardness and harshness of the construction industry in relation to other industries have been acknowledged (Tazelaar&Snijders 2010; Zhang & Hu 2011).

Ramanathan, et al. (2012) evaluated some of the challenges facing ongoing construction projects which include; price fluctuations, poor workmanship, slow and late delivery, much time taken in paying contractors for completed works, less professional project team, poor planning, constrain in subcontractors’ job and over time, lack of experience on the part of the contractor, too much contract job on a contractor, improper contract management, late decision made by the management, lack of assistance on the management of the contract, lack of materials, equipment and machinery on site of construction, weather changing rapidly affecting the progress of construction work among others. Energy efficiency as stated by Santoli&Matteo (2003), that the energy performance of a building must be analysis using standards that include the coating of the buildings, the importance of technical systems and installed equipment, the position and direction of development of the building considering climatic changes, building exposure, its range of ability for renewable energy sources and other important factors, such as indoor environmental standard, that may affect the energy requirements of the building. Thermal comfort as explained by

Shove et al. (2008) said that introducing thermal comfort for man is an important factor of the heating and air conditioning industry. This has a basic effect on the whole building industry because comfort is not something created for building users, but a successful shot targeted to be achieved provided the working environment can be controlled. The control over the environment will partly be dictated by the building they occupy and its services. And these may be subjected to some constraints (Cole et. al, 2008). The purpose of the building must be to allow occupants to achieve their comfort goal. People adapt more readily to friendly thermal environments. The building should be designed to provide a thermal environment that is within the range usual for the particular type of accommodation, according to climate, season and cultural requirement. Site Suitability fact finding is important as this enable the site legality and physical accommodation of the type and size of project being constructed. When selecting sites for construction purposes site shouldn’t be sited in noisy areas and compatibility with present facilities should be ensured and determination of what else will be planned for the site in the future (Nwafor, 2006).

1.2 Statement of Problems

Constructions in Nigeria have been noticed to kick and stop. Most of the times this occurs majorly due to poor funding of the project, variations in construction designs, incompetent professionalism at the design stage as well as during construction. The involvement of quake in construction works in this industry, stakeholders and contractors trying to maximized profit leading to poor construction work and collapse. All these facts mention results into lost of lives of the occupant of these buildings, damage of properties and waste of funds. Bribery also being one of the problems noticed in Nigerian construction industrywhereby contractors’ payoff supervisors of project“it could be the consultants or development agencies” to use fake processes in installing inferior equipment and the use of less standard materials on site. Corruption has also been traced in the selection of suitable contractor for the execution of projects in Nigeria i.e. during procurement of contracts.

Time and cost have also been one of the major problems of Nigerian construction industry and all effort to solve this problem has been abortive. The aim of this research is to access some of these problem and challenges encountered by the ongoing construction work in Abuja city. Problem like efficiency in the design production and the construction stage which include cost control, reducing wastage on site, useful use of materials, encouraging the use of local materials for less energy in use and reduction also in the use of high cost material such as steel and cement. Another challenge in this industry is low standard of living of peoplewhichpose the need for new construction work to kickoff, poverty level of people contributes to the low standard of living of people which require installation of new and better infrastructure and basic for people (food, shelter, clothing’s). As a result of these problems faced by the ongoing constructions projects in Nigeria industry led to these research questions:

1. What are the major challenges encountered in construction projects in Nigeria?
2. What are the factors causing these challenges in ongoing construction projects?
3. What are the preventive or remedy measures to be taken to prevent challenges encountered    in ongoing construction projects?
4. How do these challenges affect completion time and price?

1.3Research Hypothesis

(RH) formulated for this study was:

RHo: price fluctuation is significant in the completion time of ongoing construction projects.

RH1: proper supervision and planning improve work progress without delays.

1.4Aim and Objectives

The aim of this research is to evaluate the challenges of ongoing constructions projects in Nigeria construction industry. The specific objectives are:

• To determine the major challenges facing ongoing construction projects in Nigeria.
• To evaluate the factors causing challenges in ongoing construction projects.
• To evaluate the preventive measures to challenges faced in ongoing construction projects.
• To determine how these challenges experienced affect completion time and price.

1.5Scope and Limitations of the Study

This research was undertaken to evaluate the challenges faced by ongoing constructions in the Nigeria construction in the city of Abuja. This in view accesses the facts and factors influencing construction production, “building construction”, causes of collapse and building deteriorating fast after some years of construction. Ongoing residential building constructions as well as commercial and industrial buildings were covered for these research work. In this research, only the professionals in the Nigeria construction industry were given chance to evaluate some of the problem encountered by ongoing construction project in the industry.

To improve the social attributes of construction industry, standard of living of people through poverty alleviation, provision of amenities, regulation of building project cost, stop tribal segregation and provision of a safe environment to work should be ensured.