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

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Cost escalation and schedule delays in road construction

projects 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 construction
industry is large, volatile, and requires tremendous capital outlays. For developing economies, road construction constitutes a major
component of the construction industry. This means that much of the national budget on infrastructure development is channelled to
road construction projects. The aim of the study reported in this paper was to identify causes and effects of cost escalation and schedule
delays in road construction projects. Using a detailed literature review, structured interviews and questionnaire surveys, the results of the
study confirmed the prevalence of cost escalation and schedule delays in road construction projects in Zambia. The study established that
bad 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, contract
modification, 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 the
major causes of schedule delays in road construction projects. Appropriate project management practices are thus required to curb the
causes and effects of cost escalation and schedule delays in road construction projects.
Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd and IPMA. All rights reserved.

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

1. Introduction According to Ahmed et al. [1], delays on construction

Cost and schedule overruns can occur due to a wide
range of causes on various types of projects. If project costs
or schedules exceed their planned targets, client satisfaction
would be compromised. The funding profile would no
longer match the budget requirement and further slippage
in schedule could result. The resulting effects would be det-
rimental especially in the case of developing countries
whose wealth measure is greatly dependant on their perfor-
mance in infrastructure provision through the construction
industry, especially on road construction projects which
constitute a major component of the industry.
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +260 977619877.
E-mail address: cjicax@yahoo.co.uk (C. Kaliba).
projects 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 on
clients, contractors, and consultants in terms of growth in
adversarial relationships, mistrust, litigation, arbitration,
cash-flow problems, and a general feeling of trepidation
towards 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, carried
an article that indicated that construction projects in India
were prone to delays and cost escalation, causing contrac-
tors to back out of the some projects.
Major causes and effects of cost escalation and schedule
delays on road construction projects in Zambia are
outlined.

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

doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2008.07.003
 C. Kaliba et al. / International Journal of Project Management 27 (2009) 522–531 523

In the bid to improve the economy, the Government of
Zambia has over the past years spent a lot of resources on
road construction projects. For example, US$ 118.7 million
was spent on road projects in 2005, US$ 227 million in
2006 and US$197 million in 2007 [9–11]. However, many
road projects were rarely completed within the planned
time and cost as can be seen in Table 1, leading to loss of
revenue due to cost escalation and schedule delays. As a
result of its overriding importance for both the client in
terms of performance and the contractor in terms of
money, time is the source of frequent disputes and claims
leading 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 of
money required to construct a road project over and above
the original budgeted amount. In the India Infrastructure
Report, Datta [5] described cost escalation as a ubiquitous
problem in government projects. Cost escalation occurs
when actual costs exceed previously estimated values [16].
Schexnayder et al. [25] and Merewitz [18] endeavoured
to find some of the reasons that lead to cost escalation
and categorized them into two broad groups: uncontrolla-
ble and controllable factors.
In a study to identify factors that cause inaccuracies in
cost estimates of highway projects, the Government
Accountability Office [8], found that 77% of highway pro-
jects in the USA experienced cost escalation. Flyvbjerg
et al. [7] also concluded that nine out of every ten construc-
tion projects experienced cost escalation. Most of the cost
escalation 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 be
reliable 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 project
is designed and built.
Other studies [5,17–21,25] identified cost escalation to be
a result of problems such as delay in land acquisition, unex-
pected problems in supply of raw materials, illegal
encroachment on land even during project implementation,
or due to internal problems in government organisations. It
has further been noted that delays between the planning
stage and actual implementation of especially large infra-
structure projects is an ubiquitous problem resulting in cost
escalation and failure to meet the demands as the construc-
tion completion horizon is reached even before the comple-
tion of the project [5].

Table 1
Performance of selected projects in Zambia
Name of Start date Original finish Revised Original contract sum Final contract sum (US Remarks
project date finish date (US $’ million) $’ million)
1 Nyimba- October October 2004 July 2005 4.90 5.88 Beyond budget,
Katete 2003 beyond schedule
2 Lusaka- January July 2005 On-going 24.25 25.33 Beyond budget,
Mongu 2003 beyond schedule
3 Kasama- October November Nil 35.00 Beyond schedule
Luwingu 2001 2003
4 Mpika- June 2001 December Nil 2.38 Beyond schedule
Kasama 2002
5 Mpika-Muwele June 2001 December Nil 1.30 Failure to commence
2001
6 Kashikishi- June 2001 January 2003 Nil 37.50 Incomplete work
Lunchinda
7 Chambeshi- February August 2001 Nil 1.35 Failure to commence
Chinkobo 2001
8 Isoka- December March 2002 August 2002 4.00 5.50 Beyond budget,
Muyombe 2000 beyond schedule
9 Chinsali- April 1999 July 2000 November 2.00 2.00 Beyond schedule
Nakonde 2000
10 Mpika- March March 2000 November 1.95 1.95 Beyond schedule
Chinsali 1999 2000
11 Mutanda- February February December 3.84 6.45 Beyond budget,
Kasempa 1997 1999 2000 beyond schedule
12 Choma- November February Nil 2.50 8.60 Beyond budget,
Namwala 1994 1998 incomplete work
13 Luanshya- November January 1997 December 2.53 3.63 Beyond budget,
Mpongwe 1994 2001 beyond schedule
Source: Projects progress report [23] and projects progress report [24].
524 C. Kaliba et al. / International Journal of Project Management 27 (2009) 522–531
Factors that lead to cost escalation are said to include
among others: the size of the project; project scope enlarge-
ment; inflation; length of time to complete the project;
incompleteness of preliminary engineering and quantity
surveys; engineering uncertainties; exogenous delays; com-
plexities of administrative structures; and inexperience of
administrative personnel [18]. Cost escalation is further
compounded by factors such as project location, project
conditions, environmental mitigation costs, suspension of
works, strikes, poor coordination on site, expiry of bid,
local government pressures, political discontinuity and
transportation problems [14,21,25].
Studies by the Rand Corporation to address the ques-
tion of what steps could be taken to minimise cost and
schedule risks suggest that factors such as remote sites, fail-
ure to plan for adequate manpower, poor understanding of
local labour practices, and changing or unclear labour reg-
ulations can lead to cost escalation [19,20]. These studies
also indicate that poor management would cause cost esca-
lation but stress that poor project execution caused by
management deficiencies is usually not the primary driver
of project cost escalation [19,20]. Mansfield et al. [17]
showed that the major factors that cause cost escalation
were poor contract management, improper planning, inac-
curate estimating, and overall price fluctuations.
3. Schedule delays
Schedule delay refers to a situation where a construction
project 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 relationship
between the schedule, the scope of work, and project condi-
tions. Changes to any one or more of the above three can
affect the compensation level and time of completion [1].
Construction projects frequently experience schedule
delays. 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 project
delivery [6]. According to Ahmed et al. [1], delays can be
grouped in the following four broad categories depending
on 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 significant
factors affecting construction schedules were financing
and payment for completed works, poor contract manage-
ment, changes in site conditions, shortage of materials, and
improper planning. Ahmed et al. [1], Al-Moumani [2],
Kumaraswamy and Chan [15] and Assaf et al. [3] agreed
on most of the causes of schedule delays in the construction
industry and concluded that the most significant causes of
delay included approval of working drawings, delays in
payments to contractors and the resulting cash-flow prob-
lems during construction, design changes, conflicts in work
schedules of subcontractors, slow decision making and
executive bureaucracy in the clients’ organisations, design
errors, labour shortage and inadequate labour skills.
Promkuntong and Ogunlana [22] concluded that the
problems 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 in
keeping with the Millennium Development Goal Number
8, 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 the
impediments of geography by improving their transit trans-
port systems, the Government of Zambia in its 2006
national budget allocated an equivalent of US $227 million
towards 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 further
stressed the need for strengthening economic infrastructure
as one of the critical vehicles for the realization of the
plan’s objectives. During the FNDP, it was planned that
roads in a maintainable condition should improve from
51% in 2005 to 90% by 2010. Spending on rural feeder
roads, in particular, was to be enhanced so as to widen
market access on a large scale. The FNDP targeted to raise
spending on road infrastructure to at least 2.0% of Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) during the planned period [12].
While it was noble to allocate so much resources to the
road sector, it has been argued that the Government would
continue to put taxpayers’ money in a ‘bottomless pit’ if
there was no proper management of road projects [4].
From available information [23,24], there seems to be a
consistent pattern of projects costing more than budgeted
for, taking longer than planned or even being terminated
before 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 urgent
measures to address it.
Improved management of roads would only be demon-
strated when projects of desired quality would be delivered
within their scheduled period and costs. From the foregoing
discourse, there are a wide range of views on the causes of
schedule delays and cost escalation regarding engineering
and construction projects. Some are attributable to a single
 C. Kaliba et al. / International Journal of Project Management 27 (2009) 522–531
Fig. 1. Country data and location of Zambia in Africa.
party, others can be ascribed to several quarters, and many
relate more to systemic faults or deficiencies rather than to a
group or groups of people. Successful execution of con-
struction projects and keeping them within estimated cost
and prescribed schedules depend on a methodology that
requires sound engineering judgment [13]. This calls for
employment 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 in
construction projects, little or no research has been under-
taken in Africa in general and Zambia in particular to
address the identified challenges. Additionally, most of
the reported studies relate to the construction industry in
general, and the building sector in particular, and as such
would 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 would
affect 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 been
paid to this area of investigation in the past.
5. Research methods
This paper presents findings of a study carried out from
February 2006 to February 2007 on the major causes and
effects of cost escalation and schedule delays in road con-
struction projects in Zambia. The data was collected using
structured interviews and questionnaires surveys, literature
review and case studies of road construction projects in the
country.
525
6. Structured interviews
The structured interviews were preliminary in nature
and design and were targeted at respondents from consult-
ing and construction firms, financing institutions and
implementing agencies. The structure of the interview ques-
tions was based on information gathered from literature
review and was intended to identify challenges that finan-
ciers, consultants, implementing agencies and contractors
face in implementing road projects in Zambian. The inter-
views were also aimed at obtaining all possible factors that
would cause cost escalation and schedule delays in road
construction projects in Zambia so as to have them
included in the main questionnaire survey.
Ten respondents, randomly selected from a cross-section
of organisations in the road sector, were interviewed. Zam-
bia is a relatively small low-income developing country as
earlier seen in Fig. 1. The construction industry is equally
small. There are three major governmental client ministries
in Zambia with a number of implementation wings and
quasi-government agencies, 15 consulting firms, and 40
main contractors in Category R, Grades 1 to 4 registered
with the National Council for Construction in the Zambian
road construction sector. The sample size, though small,
encompassed the key players in the Zambian road sector
and helped in providing preliminary insights into the chal-
lenges faced by the road sector in which the government is
almost the sole client. The preliminary issues from the
interviews fed into the information utilised in the construc-
tion of the wider questionnaire survey described later in the
paper.
6.1. Information from the interviews
6.1.1. Overview of projects handled by interviewees
Information on the projects the interviewees had been
involved 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 had
satisfied the objectives of budget, schedule and perfor-
mance requirements were posed.
All the interviewees indicated that they had been
involved with not less than five projects in their work expe-
rience. Further, the value of contracts managed by the
interviewees ranged from USD 25,000 to USD
50,000,000. These values indicate that the magnitude of
the resources that the Government and other financing
agencies 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 the
interviewees indicated that ‘Many’ projects they had been
involved 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 this
subject needed to be explored further. The need for further
exploration was especially highlighted from the facts pre-
sented in Table 1. Interviewees indicated that in some
cases, funding was so erratic that claims owing to delayed
payments, interest and standing time by contractors
formed a significant part of the final total project cost.
Due to delayed payments, project durations increased
and costs escalated. It was also pointed out that due to
political and other influences; the scope of works on most
government-funded projects could be increased without
due regard to budgetary, schedule and other constraints.
Budget overruns, if not controlled, have the potential to
adversely affect the completion of projects. Stringent man-
agement of the various risks that can adversely impact on
increased project costs is thus paramount.
6.1.3. Schedule overruns
Results showed that a significant number of projects
were not completed within schedule. Six of the interviewees
indicated that ‘Many’ projects they were involved in had
schedule overruns, three believed that ‘Quite a few’ projects
had schedule overruns, while one stated that the number of
projects with schedule overruns was ‘Negligible’.
The literature reviewed showed that completing projects
within time is one of the biggest challenges facing the con-
struction industry. If risks are not managed well, schedule
overruns are likely to occur. Many risks, apart from
increasing 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 overrun
risks 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, some
projects suffered protracted durations. Some of these sche-
dule overruns were so severe that they could increase the
original project durations two, three or even four fold as
evidenced from the information in Table 1 in which pro-
jects such as Luanshya-Mpongwe, Kasama-Luwingu and
Kashikishi-Lunchinda roads severely exceeded original
project durations.
6.1.4. Key factors that contribute to projects failing to meet
desired objectives
It was necessary to identify the most important factors
that contributed to some projects falling short of the
desired objectives of cost, time and quality. From their
own experiences, interviewees were requested to pick out
from a given list, factors they considered most significant
in contributing to projects failing to meet desired
objectives.
Four of the interviewees believed that ‘Poor or erratic
funding’ contributed most to poor project outcomes. Some
explained that this was more characteristic with projects
that were fully government-financed. In fact, most of the
interviewees pointed out that all other project objectives
were seriously compromised because of this single factor.
Three indicated that ‘Contractors’ incompetence’ contrib-
uted to poor project performance; two stated that ‘Poor
project supervision’ contributed to many projects failing
to meet desired objectives; and one singled out ‘Sudden
change or increase in the scope of works’ contributory to
projects 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 project
outcomes. 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 projects
failing to meet budgetary, schedule and design require-
ments. Three out of ten interviewees rated the prevalence
as ‘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 and
quality. It seemed these problems were so widespread that
it was almost an accepted norm for this to occur on govern-
ment-financed projects. Some of the reasons advanced
included 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 were
good examples cited. The findings from the interviews were
vital 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 and
schedule 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 included
all possible factors that would cause cost escalation and
schedule delays in road construction projects in Zambia,
the sample was disproportionately stratified so as so have
represent the views of contractors, consultants and clients
equally. The response rate for the questionnaire survey
was 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 survey
respondents were assessed. As shown in Fig. 2, out of 26
participants 27% of the respondents had a diploma in engi-
 C. Kaliba et al. / International Journal of Project Management 27 (2009) 522–531 527

60 Weighted opinion averages of each cause of cost escala-

tion and schedule delays in road construction project were
determined to assess their perceived significance. The aver-
50
age weighted perceived significance was then computed
using the formula below:
Percent of respondents

40 4
P
F i Ri
1
WA ¼  14  100%
30
4 P
Fi
1

where WA is the average weighted perceived significance;

20
Ri is the response type on the Likert scale, i ranging from
1 to 4 on the Likert scale; Fi is the frequency or total num-
10 ber of respondents choosing response type i on the Likert
Dip in Eng BEng Msc in Eng scale, with i ranging from 1 to 4 as earlier described.
Academic qualification As an example, WA, the average weighted perceived sig-
Fig. 2. Academic qualifications of the respondents. nificance was computed as follows:
1
 
ðF 1  R1 þ F 2  R2 þ F 3  R3 þ F 4  R4 Þ
WA ¼ 
4 ðF 1 þ F 2 þ F 3 þ F 4 Þ
 100%
30
It is note worthy that the possible values of average
weighted perceived significance, WA, ranged from 25% to
Percent of respondents

20
10
0
5 years or less
6 to 10 years
Working experience in road construction industry
Fig. 3. Working experience in road construction industry.
neering, 50% had a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering
while 23% had a masters of science in engineering.
Fig. 3 shows that 31% of the respondents had worked in
the construction industry for more than sixteen years, 23%
for eleven to sixteen years, 27% for six to ten years while
the rest had worked for five years or less.
The profile and experience of the respondents suggest
sufficient exposure to make the information acquired
reliable.
8. Analysis and discussion of questionnaire survey results
A questionnaire survey was used to further investigate
the findings of the interviews and test the extent to which
the 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 their
significance on a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 4, where
1 = not significant, 2 = slightly significant, 3 = significant
and 4 = very significant.
100% because each factor identified through literature or
interviews had some level of significance that would not
amount to zero. The factors whose WA score was 50%
and above were categorized as major factors that cause cost
escalation and schedule delays in road construction pro-
jects in Zambia.
11 to 15 years
9. Major causes of cost escalation in road construction
16 years or more projects
Results of questionnaire surveys showed that there were
eight major causes of cost escalations that predominantly
affect road construction projects in Zambia. From Fig. 4,
bad weather, mainly heavy rainfall and floods, scored the
highest weighted average of 73%. It was followed by scope
changes which scored 63% and environmental protection
and mitigation cost which scored 61%. Schedule delay
scored 54% while strikes had 52%. The others were local
government pressures, technical challenges and inflation
which all scored 50%.
10. Responsibility and category of major causes of cost
escalation
The major causes of cost escalation were categorized as
shown in Table 2, which indicates that clients were respon-
sible for most of the major causes of cost escalation. Four
of the major causes of cost escalation were solely attributed
to clients. Contractors bore responsibility for two whilst
sharing one with consultants. Bad or inclement weather
had 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-
528 C. Kaliba et al. / International Journal of Project Management 27 (2009) 522–531

80%
70%

Weighted Average
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Bad Scope Env Schedule Strikes Technical Inflation Local govt
weather changes protection delay challenges pressures
&
mitigation
costs
Causes of cost escalation

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

Table 2 weighted average percentage of occurrence as shown in

Responsibility and category of the major cause of cost escalation Fig. 5.
Causes of cost escalation Responsibility (who Category of
bares the cost?) factor 13. Responsibility and category of the major causes of
Bad weather Shared Uncontrollable schedule delays
Inflation Client Uncontrollable
Schedule delay Contractor Controllable Table 3 indicates that clients were responsible for six of
Scope changes Client Controllable the major causes of schedule delay. The other six were
Local government pressures Client Controllable
Strikes Contractor Controllable
attributed to contractors while two to consultants. As
Technical challenges Contractor and Controllable can be seen from Table 3, 50% of the major causes of sche-
consultant dule delay were compensable events thus the need to keep
Environmental protection and Client Controllable the occurrence of such factors to a minimum so that pro-
mitigation costs jects could be executed within budget.

tion were uncontrollable and as such the problem of cost
escalation could be minimised.
11. Effects of cost escalation
The study established that project delay, poor quality,
project extension, project abandonment, litigation and cost
overruns were the effects of cost escalation. These effects
could adversely affect the national economy if left
unchecked.
12. Major causes of schedule delays
Delayed payment was found to be the number one cause
of 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 in
client organisations and financial difficulties that accom-
pany the delayed release of funds by client organisations
which had 67% and 60% respectively. Contract modifica-
tion was ranked forth at 57% while economic hardships
were ranked as the fifth major cause of schedule delays
56% weighted average score. Material procurement and
changes in drawings both scored 55%. Staffing problems,
equipment unavailability, poor supervision, construction
mistakes, poor coordination on site and changes in specifi-
cations all scored 53% while labour disputes were least
among the major causes of schedule delays with 50%
14. Effects of schedule delays
The major effects of schedule delays in road construction
projects 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 in
keeping with the Millennium Development Goal Number
8, Target 14 which focuses on assisting landlocked develop-
ing countries like Zambia to meet their special development
needs and to help them overcome the impediments of geog-
raphy by improving their transit transport systems, a lot of
investments has been channelled into road construction
projects. Despite substantial investment in road projects,
improvements in the performance of the sector are signifi-
cantly impeded by cost escalation and schedule delays
experienced on many projects.
The study found bad or inclement weather due to heavy
rains and the resulting floods to be the number one cause for
cost escalation. It was followed by scope changes, environ-
mental protection and mitigation costs. Schedule delays,
strikes, local government pressures, technical challenges
and inflation were also found to be major contributors to
cost escalation. On the other hand, delayed payments were
found to be the number one cause of schedule delays in the
Zambian road construction industry. It was followed by the
 C. Kaliba et al. / International Journal of Project Management 27 (2009) 522–531 529

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

Table 3 development. Delays and any cost overruns tend to unbal-

Responsibility and category of the major causes of schedule delays ance the initial cost benefit analyses conducted, considering
Causes of delay Responsibility (who leads to Type of delay much of the money used to construct the roads is borrowed
the cause?) and has to be paid back with interest. All the factors iden-
Changes in Client Excusable – tified in this study need to be carefully managed so as to
drawings compensable avoid risks that are attributable to them. This calls for
Changes in Consultant Excusable –
improved risk and project management practices by clients,
specifications compensable
Material Contractor Non-excusable contractors and consultants.
procurement Lastly, the small sample size of 26 respondents to the
Construction Contractor Non-excusable questionnaire survey poses some limitations to the extent
mistakes to which the results of the study could be generalised.
Poor supervision Consultant Non-excusable
Due to this limitation, the survey may not have identified
Equipment Contractor Non-excusable
unavailability all the possible factors that could cause cost escalation
Financial process Client Excusable – and schedule delays and their effects in road construction
compensable projects in Zambia. However, this notwithstanding, the
Financial difficulties Client Excusable – study made a significant attempt at identifying the major
compensable
causes of cost escalation and schedule delays in road con-
Delayed payments Client Excusable –
compensable struction projects in Zambia.
Economic problems Client Excusable –
compensable 16. Recommendations
Labour disputes and Contractor Non-excusable
strikes
There are no straightforward solutions to the challenges
Contract Client Excusable –
modification compensable of cost escalation and schedule delays in road construction
Staffing problems Contractor Non-excusable projects. There are, however, steps that can be taken to
Poor coordination Contractor Non-excusable minimise their causes and effects, the major one being the
on site use 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, the
financial processes in client organisations and financial dif- following recommendations are suggested.
ficulties that accompany the delayed release of funds by cli-
ent organisations, contract modifications, and economic 16.1. Project timing and scheduling
hardships. Materials procurement, changes in drawings,
Staffing problems, equipment unavailability, poor supervi- The projects earmarked for construction should be
sion, construction mistakes, poor coordination on site, properly planned and timed in such a way that most of
changes in specifications and labour disputes were among the works can be executed in seasons of clement weather.
the major causes of schedule delays. Except for long contracts which take more than one year,
These factors combine to impede the rate of delivery of the projects should be executed between early April and
road infrastructure and consequently the rate of national early 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 on
at appropriate times. Proper scheduling would also ensure
that projects do not experience significant resource
bottlenecks.
16.2. Scope definition
For any project, scope needs to be well defined from
inception to completion. Scope changes often lead to
claims and at time disruption of work due to inadequate
analysis of the project in its initial stages. Reasonable sur-
veys that would bring to light the scope of works to be
undertaken must always be conducted. The period between
these surveys and award of contract should not be too long
as conditions would not remain the same for a long period
of time. It should be borne in mind that contractors tend to
over price variations so as to cover up for any short falls in
their initial bids. This implies that the variations that result
from scope enlargements are more costly hence compound
cost 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. The
initial cost estimates should be as accurate as possible.
This would allow clients to ensure that the required funds
for executing the project are sourced in good time and
made available when required. Cost and value engineering
principles 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 dealt
with 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 could
also be charged on delayed payments, hence inducing cost
escalation. Therefore, clients should ensure that they have
funds available for projects before they are commissioned.
The engagement of the financially efficient private sector
through public private partnerships in road infrastructure
would be another alternative for funding road projects.
On the other hand, contractors should avoid misapplying
project finances as this could put them in financial distress
that 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 and
quality are achieved.
16.4. Communication
Effective communication can alleviate most of the fac-
tors that cause cost escalation and schedule delays in road
construction projects. Clients ought to promote team-
building communication processes. Project managers need
to deal with all project issues objectively and ensure that all
communication is project issue based.
16.5. Competent personnel
Effective project implementation requires competent
personnel. This would minimise errors, poor supervision
and enhance coordination on sites. Clients, Consultants
and Contractors should ensure that they have the right per-
sonnel with the right qualifications to manage their pro-
jects. Where possible, construction managers need to
have 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 that
can help local contractors build their capacity by availing
them credit facilities. This would ensure adequate equip-
ment availability. On the other hand, deliberate policies
for personnel capacity building should also be put in place
by contractors, consultants and client. The benefits of such
facilities would upset the prevalent quality shortfalls and
losses of time and money.
16.7. Legislation and good corporate governance
Strike and labour disputes can be controlled through the
use of adequate and appropriate legislation. The govern-
ment should update, enact and effectively enforce laws that
would ensure that the work force is not ill-treated by their
employers. These laws should also provide for an effective
and proper grievance resolution procedure. This would call
for good corporate governance procedures by the client,
consultant and contractors.
Applied singularly or collectively, the suggested recom-
mendations are essential for improving delivery of road
construction projects in Zambia and other low-income
developing countries. It is necessary that the risks and
weaknesses identified in this paper are addressed if the sub-
stantial investments in road construction projects would
contribute to poverty alleviation and an improved quality
of life for the population this vital infrastructure category
is intended to serve.
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