Analysis of Cost Overrun and Schedule Delays of Infrastructure Projects in Low Income Economies: Case Studies in Ethiopia

Table 7

Critical risks leading to cost overrun in construction projects.

Critical risks leading to cost overrun	Mean score
	Overall		Contractor		Consultant		Client		Academia
	Mean score	Rank	Mean score	Rank	Mean score	Rank	Mean score	Rank	Mean score	Rank
Inflation	4.43	1	4.46	3	4.42	25	4.33	25	4.50	25
Inaccurate cost estimates	4.29	2	4.38	4	4.25	8	3.83	8	4.50	8
Variations	4.24	3	4.08	9	4.08	3	4.33	3	4.17	3
Unforeseeable fluctuation in material and labor prices	4.24	4	4.62	1	3.83	27	3.83	27	4.44	27
Availability of resources (labor, materials, and equipment)	4.14	5	4.08	11	3.50	14	3.50	14	4.11	14
Delay in decision making	4.10	6	3.92	12	3.92	4	3.33	4	4.17	4
Market conditions/economic climate	4.10	7	4.54	2	4.00	23	3.50	23	3.89	23
Political situation of the country	4.10	8	4.15	8	3.58	24	2.83	24	4.11	24
Delay in payment of completed works	3.95	9	4.15	6	3.42	2	3.00	2	4.33	2
Lack of coordination and communication between parties	3.95	10	3.85	13	4.17	5	3.50	5	4.28	5
Poor supervision and contract management	3.86	11	4.15	7	4.25	7	3.17	7	4.11	7
Clarity and accuracy of project information before execution	3.86	12	4.08	10	3.50	11	3.50	11	3.67	11
Financial status of client	3.81	13	3.69	18	3.67	1	3.83	1	4.06	1
Complexity of design and construction	3.81	14	3.15	25	3.50	12	3.83	12	3.61	12
Changes in project schedule and phasing requirements	3.80	15	3.62	20	3.92	17	3.83	17	4.17	17
Poor feasibility and project analysis	3.71	16	4.23	5	4.08	9	3.00	9	4.39	9
Level of workmanship (productivity and performance)	3.70	17	3.83	16	3.67	22	3.33	22	3.78	22
Competency and experience of consulting firm	3.57	18	3.85	14	3.17	6	3.50	6	3.83	6
Government regulations	3.48	19	3.23	24	3.42	26	3.33	26	3.61	26
Availability of machinery	3.48	20	3.77	17	3.00	28	2.33	28	3.44	28
Site constraints (access, storage, electricity)	3.43	21	3.54	21	3.33	16	3.17	16	3.17	16
Clear and detailed drawings and specification	3.38	22	3.62	19	3.42	10	3.50	10	3.61	10
Project delivery method and contractual arrangement	3.38	23	3.85	15	3.33	19	3.17	19	3.11	19
Quality of information flow during execution	3.29	24	3.46	22	3.50	13	3.17	13	3.61	13
Type of currency used	3.00	25	3.38	23	3.08	18	2.83	18	3.29	18
Advance payment arrangement	2.90	26	3.00	27	3.33	20	3.00	20	2.94	20
Type and value of insurance	2.71	27	2.85	28	3.25	21	3.33	21	2.72	21
Type of project (residential, commercial, industrial, etc.)	2.67	28	3.00	26	2.75	15	3.50	15	2.94	15