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International Journal of Project Management 27 (2009) 522–531

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Cost escalation and schedule delays in road constructionprojects in Zambia

Chabota Kaliba *, Mundia Muya, Kanyuka Mumba

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Zambia, P.O. Box 32379, Lusaka, Zambia

Received 27 November 2007; received in revised form 30 June 2008; accepted 3 July 2008

Abstract

The wealth of any nation is gauged by its performance in infrastructure provision through its construction industry. The constructionindustry is large, volatile, and requires tremendous capital outlays. For developing economies, road construction constitutes a majorcomponent of the construction industry. This means that much of the national budget on infrastructure development is channelled toroad construction projects. The aim of the study reported in this paper was to identify causes and effects of cost escalation and scheduledelays in road construction projects. Using a detailed literature review, structured interviews and questionnaire surveys, the results of thestudy confirmed the prevalence of cost escalation and schedule delays in road construction projects in Zambia. The study established thatbad or inclement weather due to heavy rains and floods, scope changes, environmental protection and mitigation costs, schedule delay,strikes, technical challenges, inflation and local government pressures were the major causes of cost escalation in Zambia’s road construc-tion projects. On the other hand, delayed payments, financial processes and difficulties on the part of contractors and clients, contractmodification, economic problems, materials procurement, changes in drawings, staffing problems, equipment unavailability, poor super-vision, construction mistakes, poor coordination on site, changes in specifications and labour disputes and strikes were found to be themajor causes of schedule delays in road construction projects. Appropriate project management practices are thus required to curb thecauses and effects of cost escalation and schedule delays in road construction projects.� 2008 Elsevier Ltd and IPMA. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Cost escalation; Schedule delays; Road construction industry; Zambia

1. Introduction

Cost and schedule overruns can occur due to a widerange of causes on various types of projects. If project costsor schedules exceed their planned targets, client satisfactionwould be compromised. The funding profile would nolonger match the budget requirement and further slippagein schedule could result. The resulting effects would be det-rimental especially in the case of developing countrieswhose wealth measure is greatly dependant on their perfor-mance in infrastructure provision through the constructionindustry, especially on road construction projects whichconstitute a major component of the industry.

0263-7863/$34.00 � 2008 Elsevier Ltd and IPMA. All rights reserved.

doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2008.07.003

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +260 977619877.E-mail address: cjicax@yahoo.co.uk (C. Kaliba).

According to Ahmed et al. [1], delays on constructionprojects are a universal phenomenon and road construc-tion projects are no exception. They are usually accompa-nied by cost overruns. These have a debilitating effect onclients, contractors, and consultants in terms of growth inadversarial relationships, mistrust, litigation, arbitration,cash-flow problems, and a general feeling of trepidationtowards each other [1]. This problem is not unique to devel-oped countries but is also experienced in most of the devel-oping economies too. The Hindu [26], an e-paper, carriedan article that indicated that construction projects in Indiawere prone to delays and cost escalation, causing contrac-tors to back out of the some projects.

Major causes and effects of cost escalation and scheduledelays on road construction projects in Zambia areoutlined.

C. Kaliba et al. / International Journal of Project Management 27 (2009) 522–531 523

In the bid to improve the economy, the Government ofZambia has over the past years spent a lot of resources onroad construction projects. For example, US$ 118.7 millionwas spent on road projects in 2005, US$ 227 million in2006 and US$197 million in 2007 [9–11]. However, manyroad projects were rarely completed within the plannedtime and cost as can be seen in Table 1, leading to loss ofrevenue due to cost escalation and schedule delays. As aresult of its overriding importance for both the client interms of performance and the contractor in terms ofmoney, time is the source of frequent disputes and claimsleading to lawsuits [1], leading to more expenses and reve-nue losses by the parties involved.

2. Cost escalation

Cost escalation refers to the increase in the amount ofmoney required to construct a road project over and abovethe original budgeted amount. In the India InfrastructureReport, Datta [5] described cost escalation as a ubiquitousproblem in government projects. Cost escalation occurswhen actual costs exceed previously estimated values [16].

Schexnayder et al. [25] and Merewitz [18] endeavouredto find some of the reasons that lead to cost escalationand categorized them into two broad groups: uncontrolla-ble and controllable factors.

In a study to identify factors that cause inaccuracies incost estimates of highway projects, the Government

Table 1Performance of selected projects in Zambia

Name ofproject

Start date Original finishdate

Revisedfinish date

Ori(US

1 Nyimba-Katete

October2003

October 2004 July 2005 4.90

2 Lusaka-Mongu

January2003

July 2005 On-going 24.2

3 Kasama-Luwingu

October2001

November2003

Nil 35.0

4 Mpika-Kasama

June 2001 December2002

Nil 2.38

5 Mpika-Muwele June 2001 December2001

Nil 1.30

6 Kashikishi-Lunchinda

June 2001 January 2003 Nil 37.5

7 Chambeshi-Chinkobo

February2001

August 2001 Nil 1.35

8 Isoka-Muyombe

December2000

March 2002 August 2002 4.00

9 Chinsali-Nakonde

April 1999 July 2000 November2000

2.00

10 Mpika-Chinsali

March1999

March 2000 November2000

1.95

11 Mutanda-Kasempa

February1997

February1999

December2000

3.84

12 Choma-Namwala

November1994

February1998

Nil 2.50

13 Luanshya-Mpongwe

November1994

January 1997 December2001

2.53

Source: Projects progress report [23] and projects progress report [24].

Accountability Office [8], found that 77% of highway pro-jects in the USA experienced cost escalation. Flyvbjerget al. [7] also concluded that nine out of every ten construc-tion projects experienced cost escalation. Most of the costescalation is said to occur before construction begins.Among the many factors identified, GAO/RCED [8] spe-cifically noted three:

� initial estimates were preliminary and not designed to bereliable predictors of project costs;� initial estimates were modified to reflect more detailed

plans and specifications as a project is designed; and� a project’s costs were affected by among other things,

inflation and changes in scope to accommodate eco-nomic considerations that occurs over time as a projectis designed and built.

Other studies [5,17–21,25] identified cost escalation to bea result of problems such as delay in land acquisition, unex-pected problems in supply of raw materials, illegalencroachment on land even during project implementation,or due to internal problems in government organisations. Ithas further been noted that delays between the planningstage and actual implementation of especially large infra-structure projects is an ubiquitous problem resulting in costescalation and failure to meet the demands as the construc-tion completion horizon is reached even before the comple-tion of the project [5].

ginal contract sum$’ million)

Final contract sum (US$’ million)

Remarks

5.88 Beyond budget,beyond schedule

5 25.33 Beyond budget,beyond schedule

0 Beyond schedule

Beyond schedule

Failure to commence

0 Incomplete work

Failure to commence

5.50 Beyond budget,beyond schedule

2.00 Beyond schedule

1.95 Beyond schedule

6.45 Beyond budget,beyond schedule

8.60 Beyond budget,incomplete work

3.63 Beyond budget,beyond schedule

524 C. Kaliba et al. / International Journal of Project Management 27 (2009) 522–531

Factors that lead to cost escalation are said to includeamong others: the size of the project; project scope enlarge-ment; inflation; length of time to complete the project;incompleteness of preliminary engineering and quantitysurveys; engineering uncertainties; exogenous delays; com-plexities of administrative structures; and inexperience ofadministrative personnel [18]. Cost escalation is furthercompounded by factors such as project location, projectconditions, environmental mitigation costs, suspension ofworks, strikes, poor coordination on site, expiry of bid,local government pressures, political discontinuity andtransportation problems [14,21,25].

Studies by the Rand Corporation to address the ques-tion of what steps could be taken to minimise cost andschedule risks suggest that factors such as remote sites, fail-ure to plan for adequate manpower, poor understanding oflocal labour practices, and changing or unclear labour reg-ulations can lead to cost escalation [19,20]. These studiesalso indicate that poor management would cause cost esca-lation but stress that poor project execution caused bymanagement deficiencies is usually not the primary driverof project cost escalation [19,20]. Mansfield et al. [17]showed that the major factors that cause cost escalationwere poor contract management, improper planning, inac-curate estimating, and overall price fluctuations.

3. Schedule delays

Schedule delay refers to a situation where a constructionproject does not come to completion within the planned per-iod. Time is an integral part of every plan a company devel-ops for performing contract work. There is a relationshipbetween the schedule, the scope of work, and project condi-tions. Changes to any one or more of the above three canaffect the compensation level and time of completion [1].

Construction projects frequently experience scheduledelays. Various factors affect completion periods of pro-jects. It has been argued that it is necessary to create aware-ness of causes of project schedule delays, their frequency,and the extent to which they can adversely affect projectdelivery [6]. According to Ahmed et al. [1], delays can begrouped in the following four broad categories dependingon how they operate contractually:

� non-excusable delays;� non-compensable excusable delays;� compensable excusable delays; and� concurrent delays.

Mansfield et al. [17] showed that the most significantfactors affecting construction schedules were financingand payment for completed works, poor contract manage-ment, changes in site conditions, shortage of materials, andimproper planning. Ahmed et al. [1], Al-Moumani [2],Kumaraswamy and Chan [15] and Assaf et al. [3] agreedon most of the causes of schedule delays in the constructionindustry and concluded that the most significant causes of

delay included approval of working drawings, delays inpayments to contractors and the resulting cash-flow prob-lems during construction, design changes, conflicts in workschedules of subcontractors, slow decision making andexecutive bureaucracy in the clients’ organisations, designerrors, labour shortage and inadequate labour skills.

Promkuntong and Ogunlana [22] concluded that theproblems of the construction industry in developing econ-omies could be nested in three layers:

� shortages or inadequacies in industry infrastructure,mainly supply of resources;� problems caused by clients and consultants; and� incompetence of contractors.

4. The need to improve management of road construction

projects

In an effort to improve the Zambian economy and inkeeping with the Millennium Development Goal Number8, Target 14 which focuses at assisting landlocked low-income developing countries like Zambia to meet their spe-cial development needs and to help them overcome theimpediments of geography by improving their transit trans-port systems, the Government of Zambia in its 2006national budget allocated an equivalent of US $227 milliontowards roads [10]. Fig. 1 shows the country data and loca-tion of Zambia in Africa.

In its Fifth National Development Plan (FNDP) run-ning from 2006 to 2010, the Zambian Government furtherstressed the need for strengthening economic infrastructureas one of the critical vehicles for the realization of theplan’s objectives. During the FNDP, it was planned thatroads in a maintainable condition should improve from51% in 2005 to 90% by 2010. Spending on rural feederroads, in particular, was to be enhanced so as to widenmarket access on a large scale. The FNDP targeted to raisespending on road infrastructure to at least 2.0% of GrossDomestic Product (GDP) during the planned period [12].

While it was noble to allocate so much resources to theroad sector, it has been argued that the Government wouldcontinue to put taxpayers’ money in a ‘bottomless pit’ ifthere was no proper management of road projects [4].From available information [23,24], there seems to be aconsistent pattern of projects costing more than budgetedfor, taking longer than planned or even being terminatedbefore commencement or during implementation as dem-onstrated by a selected list of projects in Table 1. The por-trayed situation is a source of concern and needs urgentmeasures to address it.

Improved management of roads would only be demon-strated when projects of desired quality would be deliveredwithin their scheduled period and costs. From the foregoingdiscourse, there are a wide range of views on the causes ofschedule delays and cost escalation regarding engineeringand construction projects. Some are attributable to a single

Fig. 1. Country data and location of Zambia in Africa.

C. Kaliba et al. / International Journal of Project Management 27 (2009) 522–531 525

party, others can be ascribed to several quarters, and manyrelate more to systemic faults or deficiencies rather than to agroup or groups of people. Successful execution of con-struction projects and keeping them within estimated costand prescribed schedules depend on a methodology thatrequires sound engineering judgment [13]. This calls foremployment of effective project management techniques.

Despite the high number of studies [1–3,6,14,15,17–22,25] on causes of cost escalation and schedule delays inconstruction projects, little or no research has been under-taken in Africa in general and Zambia in particular toaddress the identified challenges. Additionally, most ofthe reported studies relate to the construction industry ingeneral, and the building sector in particular, and as suchwould not highlight some of the major causes of cost esca-lation and schedule delays in road construction projects.The studies also are predominantly from developed coun-tries and would not highlight clearly the factors that wouldaffect the road construction sector in developing countries.The fact that there is no literature of similar studies con-ducted in Zambia suggests that little attention has beenpaid to this area of investigation in the past.

5. Research methods

This paper presents findings of a study carried out fromFebruary 2006 to February 2007 on the major causes andeffects of cost escalation and schedule delays in road con-struction projects in Zambia. The data was collected usingstructured interviews and questionnaires surveys, literaturereview and case studies of road construction projects in thecountry.

6. Structured interviews

The structured interviews were preliminary in natureand design and were targeted at respondents from consult-ing and construction firms, financing institutions andimplementing agencies. The structure of the interview ques-tions was based on information gathered from literaturereview and was intended to identify challenges that finan-ciers, consultants, implementing agencies and contractorsface in implementing road projects in Zambian. The inter-views were also aimed at obtaining all possible factors thatwould cause cost escalation and schedule delays in roadconstruction projects in Zambia so as to have themincluded in the main questionnaire survey.

Ten respondents, randomly selected from a cross-sectionof organisations in the road sector, were interviewed. Zam-bia is a relatively small low-income developing country asearlier seen in Fig. 1. The construction industry is equallysmall. There are three major governmental client ministriesin Zambia with a number of implementation wings andquasi-government agencies, 15 consulting firms, and 40main contractors in Category R, Grades 1 to 4 registeredwith the National Council for Construction in the Zambianroad construction sector. The sample size, though small,encompassed the key players in the Zambian road sectorand helped in providing preliminary insights into the chal-lenges faced by the road sector in which the government isalmost the sole client. The preliminary issues from theinterviews fed into the information utilised in the construc-tion of the wider questionnaire survey described later in thepaper.

6.1. Information from the interviews

6.1.1. Overview of projects handled by interviewees

Information on the projects the interviewees had beeninvolved with in the past five years was captured. Mainly,questions relating to the number of projects undertaken,contract values, and the extent to which the projects hadsatisfied the objectives of budget, schedule and perfor-mance requirements were posed.

All the interviewees indicated that they had beeninvolved with not less than five projects in their work expe-rience. Further, the value of contracts managed by theinterviewees ranged from USD 25,000 to USD50,000,000. These values indicate that the magnitude ofthe resources that the Government and other financingagencies inject into the sector is quite significant. It is,therefore, imperative that the resources are utilised effi-ciently and effectively through good project management.

6.1.2. Budget overruns

From the experience of the interviewees, budget over-runs on projects were a common occurrence; four of theinterviewees indicated that ‘Many’ projects they had beeninvolved in had suffered budget overruns, three stated that‘Quite a few’ projects had budget overruns, while another

526 C. Kaliba et al. / International Journal of Project Management 27 (2009) 522–531

three believed that the number of projects that had experi-enced budget overruns was ‘Negligible’.

With the above responses, it was quite clear that thissubject needed to be explored further. The need for furtherexploration was especially highlighted from the facts pre-sented in Table 1. Interviewees indicated that in somecases, funding was so erratic that claims owing to delayedpayments, interest and standing time by contractorsformed a significant part of the final total project cost.Due to delayed payments, project durations increasedand costs escalated. It was also pointed out that due topolitical and other influences; the scope of works on mostgovernment-funded projects could be increased withoutdue regard to budgetary, schedule and other constraints.Budget overruns, if not controlled, have the potential toadversely affect the completion of projects. Stringent man-agement of the various risks that can adversely impact onincreased project costs is thus paramount.

6.1.3. Schedule overruns

Results showed that a significant number of projectswere not completed within schedule. Six of the intervieweesindicated that ‘Many’ projects they were involved in hadschedule overruns, three believed that ‘Quite a few’ projectshad schedule overruns, while one stated that the number ofprojects with schedule overruns was ‘Negligible’.

The literature reviewed showed that completing projectswithin time is one of the biggest challenges facing the con-struction industry. If risks are not managed well, scheduleoverruns are likely to occur. Many risks, apart fromincreasing costs, have the tendency to disrupt works, caus-ing delays and hence prolonging the duration of a project.

From the interviews, it was clear that schedule overrunrisks were significantly high on road projects in Zambia.Insights from the interviewees showed that due to funding,design, and unplanned increases in scopes of works, someprojects suffered protracted durations. Some of these sche-dule overruns were so severe that they could increase theoriginal project durations two, three or even four fold asevidenced from the information in Table 1 in which pro-jects such as Luanshya-Mpongwe, Kasama-Luwingu andKashikishi-Lunchinda roads severely exceeded originalproject durations.

6.1.4. Key factors that contribute to projects failing to meet

desired objectivesIt was necessary to identify the most important factors

that contributed to some projects falling short of thedesired objectives of cost, time and quality. From theirown experiences, interviewees were requested to pick outfrom a given list, factors they considered most significantin contributing to projects failing to meet desiredobjectives.

Four of the interviewees believed that ‘Poor or erraticfunding’ contributed most to poor project outcomes. Someexplained that this was more characteristic with projectsthat were fully government-financed. In fact, most of the

interviewees pointed out that all other project objectiveswere seriously compromised because of this single factor.Three indicated that ‘Contractors’ incompetence’ contrib-uted to poor project performance; two stated that ‘Poorproject supervision’ contributed to many projects failingto meet desired objectives; and one singled out ‘Suddenchange or increase in the scope of works’ contributory toprojects failing to meet desired objectives.

These results correlated with most of the factors identi-fied in the literature review. The results showed the serious-ness of the impact that these risks could have on projectoutcomes. Quite often, these factors, while occurring sepa-rately or jointly have caused serious implementation prob-lems on road projects in Zambia.

6.1.5. Prevalence of projects failing to meet objectives

For an overview of the extent or magnitude of the prob-lem of road projects facing implementation difficulties,interviewees were asked to rate the frequency of projectsfailing to meet budgetary, schedule and design require-ments. Three out of ten interviewees rated the prevalenceas ‘High’, four indicated that the prevalence as ‘Medium’,while three rated the frequency as ‘Low’.

It was quite evident from the interviews that many pro-jects, especially solely government-funded projects, fre-quently failed to meet the objectives of cost, time andquality. It seemed these problems were so widespread thatit was almost an accepted norm for this to occur on govern-ment-financed projects. Some of the reasons advancedincluded the sanctioning of road projects for political expe-dience without proper analysis or evaluation of the ade-quacy of resources or justification of the projects.Kasama-Luwingu and Kashikishi-Lunchinda Projects weregood examples cited. The findings from the interviews werevital input into the questionnaire survey.

7. Questionnaire survey

The questionnaire survey, which was designed to deter-mine the major causes and effects of cost escalation andschedule delays in road projects, was targeted at 60 partic-ipants using the disproportionate stratified sampling tech-nique. To ensure that the findings of the survey includedall possible factors that would cause cost escalation andschedule delays in road construction projects in Zambia,the sample was disproportionately stratified so as so haverepresent the views of contractors, consultants and clientsequally. The response rate for the questionnaire surveywas 43%, 70% of which was shared equally between con-tractors and consultants while clients had 30%representation.

7.1. Profile of questionnaire respondents

The academic qualifications of the questionnaire surveyrespondents were assessed. As shown in Fig. 2, out of 26participants 27% of the respondents had a diploma in engi-

Msc in EngBEngDip in Eng

60

50

40

30

20

10

Perc

ent o

f re

spon

dent

s

Academic qualification

Fig. 2. Academic qualifications of the respondents.

16 years or more

11 to 15 years

6 to 10 years

5 years or less

30

20

10

0

Perc

ent o

f re

spon

dent

s

Working experience in road construction industry

Fig. 3. Working experience in road construction industry.

C. Kaliba et al. / International Journal of Project Management 27 (2009) 522–531 527

neering, 50% had a bachelor’s degree in civil engineeringwhile 23% had a masters of science in engineering.

Fig. 3 shows that 31% of the respondents had worked inthe construction industry for more than sixteen years, 23%for eleven to sixteen years, 27% for six to ten years whilethe rest had worked for five years or less.

The profile and experience of the respondents suggestsufficient exposure to make the information acquiredreliable.

8. Analysis and discussion of questionnaire survey results

A questionnaire survey was used to further investigatethe findings of the interviews and test the extent to whichthe results could be generalised. Participants of the ques-tionnaire survey were asked to rate the causes of cost esca-lation and schedule overruns with respect to theirsignificance on a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 4, where1 = not significant, 2 = slightly significant, 3 = significantand 4 = very significant.

Weighted opinion averages of each cause of cost escala-tion and schedule delays in road construction project weredetermined to assess their perceived significance. The aver-age weighted perceived significance was then computedusing the formula below:

WA ¼ 1

4�

P41

F iRi

P41

F i

� 100%

where WA is the average weighted perceived significance;Ri is the response type on the Likert scale, i ranging from1 to 4 on the Likert scale; Fi is the frequency or total num-ber of respondents choosing response type i on the Likertscale, with i ranging from 1 to 4 as earlier described.

As an example, WA, the average weighted perceived sig-nificance was computed as follows:

WA ¼ 1

4� ðF 1 � R1 þ F 2 � R2 þ F 3 � R3 þ F 4 � R4Þ

ðF 1 þ F 2 þ F 3 þ F 4Þ

� �

� 100%

It is note worthy that the possible values of averageweighted perceived significance, WA, ranged from 25% to100% because each factor identified through literature orinterviews had some level of significance that would notamount to zero. The factors whose WA score was 50%and above were categorized as major factors that cause costescalation and schedule delays in road construction pro-jects in Zambia.

9. Major causes of cost escalation in road construction

projects

Results of questionnaire surveys showed that there wereeight major causes of cost escalations that predominantlyaffect road construction projects in Zambia. From Fig. 4,bad weather, mainly heavy rainfall and floods, scored thehighest weighted average of 73%. It was followed by scopechanges which scored 63% and environmental protectionand mitigation cost which scored 61%. Schedule delayscored 54% while strikes had 52%. The others were localgovernment pressures, technical challenges and inflationwhich all scored 50%.

10. Responsibility and category of major causes of cost

escalation

The major causes of cost escalation were categorized asshown in Table 2, which indicates that clients were respon-sible for most of the major causes of cost escalation. Fourof the major causes of cost escalation were solely attributedto clients. Contractors bore responsibility for two whilstsharing one with consultants. Bad or inclement weatherhad shared responsibility by the parties involved.

It was also noted that most of the causes of cost escala-tion were controllable. Only inclement weather and infla-

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%

Badweather

Scopechanges

Envprotection

&mitigation

costs

Schedule Strikesdelay

Technicalchallenges

Inflation Local govtpressures

Wei

ghte

d A

vera

ge

Causes of cost escalation

Fig. 4. Major causes of cost escalation in road projects and their ranking in Zambia.

Table 2Responsibility and category of the major cause of cost escalation

Causes of cost escalation Responsibility (whobares the cost?)

Category offactor

Bad weather Shared UncontrollableInflation Client UncontrollableSchedule delay Contractor ControllableScope changes Client ControllableLocal government pressures Client ControllableStrikes Contractor ControllableTechnical challenges Contractor and

consultantControllable

Environmental protection andmitigation costs

Client Controllable

528 C. Kaliba et al. / International Journal of Project Management 27 (2009) 522–531

tion were uncontrollable and as such the problem of costescalation could be minimised.

11. Effects of cost escalation

The study established that project delay, poor quality,project extension, project abandonment, litigation and costoverruns were the effects of cost escalation. These effectscould adversely affect the national economy if leftunchecked.

12. Major causes of schedule delays

Delayed payment was found to be the number one causeof schedule delays in the Zambian road construction indus-try with 75% as its weighted average percentage of occur-rence. It was followed by protracted financial processes inclient organisations and financial difficulties that accom-pany the delayed release of funds by client organisationswhich had 67% and 60% respectively. Contract modifica-tion was ranked forth at 57% while economic hardshipswere ranked as the fifth major cause of schedule delays56% weighted average score. Material procurement andchanges in drawings both scored 55%. Staffing problems,equipment unavailability, poor supervision, constructionmistakes, poor coordination on site and changes in specifi-cations all scored 53% while labour disputes were leastamong the major causes of schedule delays with 50%

weighted average percentage of occurrence as shown inFig. 5.

13. Responsibility and category of the major causes of

schedule delays

Table 3 indicates that clients were responsible for six ofthe major causes of schedule delay. The other six wereattributed to contractors while two to consultants. Ascan be seen from Table 3, 50% of the major causes of sche-dule delay were compensable events thus the need to keepthe occurrence of such factors to a minimum so that pro-jects could be executed within budget.

14. Effects of schedule delays

The major effects of schedule delays in road constructionprojects were identified to be poor quality of end product,project extension, litigation, and cost overruns.

15. Conclusions

In an effort to improve the Zambian economy and inkeeping with the Millennium Development Goal Number8, Target 14 which focuses on assisting landlocked develop-ing countries like Zambia to meet their special developmentneeds and to help them overcome the impediments of geog-raphy by improving their transit transport systems, a lot ofinvestments has been channelled into road constructionprojects. Despite substantial investment in road projects,improvements in the performance of the sector are signifi-cantly impeded by cost escalation and schedule delaysexperienced on many projects.

The study found bad or inclement weather due to heavyrains and the resulting floods to be the number one cause forcost escalation. It was followed by scope changes, environ-mental protection and mitigation costs. Schedule delays,strikes, local government pressures, technical challengesand inflation were also found to be major contributors tocost escalation. On the other hand, delayed payments werefound to be the number one cause of schedule delays in theZambian road construction industry. It was followed by the

Fig. 5. Major causes of schedule delay in road projects and their ranking in Zambia.

Table 3Responsibility and category of the major causes of schedule delays

Causes of delay Responsibility (who leads tothe cause?)

Type of delay

Changes indrawings

Client Excusable –compensable

Changes inspecifications

Consultant Excusable –compensable

Materialprocurement

Contractor Non-excusable

Constructionmistakes

Contractor Non-excusable

Poor supervision Consultant Non-excusableEquipment

unavailabilityContractor Non-excusable

Financial process Client Excusable –compensable

Financial difficulties Client Excusable –compensable

Delayed payments Client Excusable –compensable

Economic problems Client Excusable –compensable

Labour disputes andstrikes

Contractor Non-excusable

Contractmodification

Client Excusable –compensable

Staffing problems Contractor Non-excusablePoor coordination

on siteContractor Non-excusable

C. Kaliba et al. / International Journal of Project Management 27 (2009) 522–531 529

financial processes in client organisations and financial dif-ficulties that accompany the delayed release of funds by cli-ent organisations, contract modifications, and economichardships. Materials procurement, changes in drawings,Staffing problems, equipment unavailability, poor supervi-sion, construction mistakes, poor coordination on site,changes in specifications and labour disputes were amongthe major causes of schedule delays.

These factors combine to impede the rate of delivery ofroad infrastructure and consequently the rate of national

development. Delays and any cost overruns tend to unbal-ance the initial cost benefit analyses conducted, consideringmuch of the money used to construct the roads is borrowedand has to be paid back with interest. All the factors iden-tified in this study need to be carefully managed so as toavoid risks that are attributable to them. This calls forimproved risk and project management practices by clients,contractors and consultants.

Lastly, the small sample size of 26 respondents to thequestionnaire survey poses some limitations to the extentto which the results of the study could be generalised.Due to this limitation, the survey may not have identifiedall the possible factors that could cause cost escalationand schedule delays and their effects in road constructionprojects in Zambia. However, this notwithstanding, thestudy made a significant attempt at identifying the majorcauses of cost escalation and schedule delays in road con-struction projects in Zambia.

16. Recommendations

There are no straightforward solutions to the challengesof cost escalation and schedule delays in road constructionprojects. There are, however, steps that can be taken tominimise their causes and effects, the major one being theuse of efficient project management tools and practices.For the specific factors that cause cost escalation and sche-dule delays in road construction projects in Zambia, thefollowing recommendations are suggested.

16.1. Project timing and scheduling

The projects earmarked for construction should beproperly planned and timed in such a way that most ofthe works can be executed in seasons of clement weather.Except for long contracts which take more than one year,the projects should be executed between early April andearly December, which is the dry season in Zambia. This

530 C. Kaliba et al. / International Journal of Project Management 27 (2009) 522–531

means that procurement processes need to be embarked onat appropriate times. Proper scheduling would also ensurethat projects do not experience significant resourcebottlenecks.

16.2. Scope definition

For any project, scope needs to be well defined frominception to completion. Scope changes often lead toclaims and at time disruption of work due to inadequateanalysis of the project in its initial stages. Reasonable sur-veys that would bring to light the scope of works to beundertaken must always be conducted. The period betweenthese surveys and award of contract should not be too longas conditions would not remain the same for a long periodof time. It should be borne in mind that contractors tend toover price variations so as to cover up for any short falls intheir initial bids. This implies that the variations that resultfrom scope enlargements are more costly hence compoundcost escalation. Effective scope definition is therefore indis-pensable for satisfactory project delivery.

16.3. Project costing and financing

Proper costing is essential in every capital project. Theinitial cost estimates should be as accurate as possible.This would allow clients to ensure that the required fundsfor executing the project are sourced in good time andmade available when required. Cost and value engineeringprinciples must be applied at all stages of the project.During the execution stage of the project, project manag-ers should ensure that contractual obligations are dealtwith diligently within the required period. Delayed pay-ments due to complex financial processes in client organ-isations would cause financial difficulties to contractors,and consequently cause schedule delays. Interest couldalso be charged on delayed payments, hence inducing costescalation. Therefore, clients should ensure that they havefunds available for projects before they are commissioned.The engagement of the financially efficient private sectorthrough public private partnerships in road infrastructurewould be another alternative for funding road projects.On the other hand, contractors should avoid misapplyingproject finances as this could put them in financial distressthat could result in them failing to execute the works.Advance payments should be applied on intended pur-poses in order that project objectives of cost, time andquality are achieved.

16.4. Communication

Effective communication can alleviate most of the fac-tors that cause cost escalation and schedule delays in roadconstruction projects. Clients ought to promote team-building communication processes. Project managers needto deal with all project issues objectively and ensure that allcommunication is project issue based.

16.5. Competent personnel

Effective project implementation requires competentpersonnel. This would minimise errors, poor supervisionand enhance coordination on sites. Clients, Consultantsand Contractors should ensure that they have the right per-sonnel with the right qualifications to manage their pro-jects. Where possible, construction managers need tohave experience and qualifications in project or construc-tion management so that they can effectively utilise the pro-ject management tools that are available.

16.6. Capacity building

Capacity building is essential for sustainable develop-ment. Governments should set up deliberate schemes thatcan help local contractors build their capacity by availingthem credit facilities. This would ensure adequate equip-ment availability. On the other hand, deliberate policiesfor personnel capacity building should also be put in placeby contractors, consultants and client. The benefits of suchfacilities would upset the prevalent quality shortfalls andlosses of time and money.

16.7. Legislation and good corporate governance

Strike and labour disputes can be controlled through theuse of adequate and appropriate legislation. The govern-ment should update, enact and effectively enforce laws thatwould ensure that the work force is not ill-treated by theiremployers. These laws should also provide for an effectiveand proper grievance resolution procedure. This would callfor good corporate governance procedures by the client,consultant and contractors.

Applied singularly or collectively, the suggested recom-mendations are essential for improving delivery of roadconstruction projects in Zambia and other low-incomedeveloping countries. It is necessary that the risks andweaknesses identified in this paper are addressed if the sub-stantial investments in road construction projects wouldcontribute to poverty alleviation and an improved qualityof life for the population this vital infrastructure categoryis intended to serve.

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