Identification of Causes and Minimization of Delays in Highway Projects of Pakistan

The problem of delay in construction industry is a regular phenomenon worldwide, and construction industry of Pakistan has no exception, particularly in highways projects. Delay can be described as the extension of time to complete the construction project. The aim of this paper is to identify main causes of delays in highway projects of Pakistan, and to determine mitigating measures for the identified causes. The research method of this study is based on literature review, questionnaire survey and semi structured interview. From in-depth literature review, twenty-six common causes of delay were found. A questionnaire survey was carried out among construction professionals of highway projects. The causes of delay in highways projects were ranked referring to their Mean values. A semi structured interview was carried out to determine mitigation measures for the top ten causes of delays. The data gathered from questionnaire survey was analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) while, data collected through semi structured interviews was analyzed using Nvivo software. The findings of this study are expected to be useful for construction parties, to mitigate the delays in highway construction projects of Pakistan.

From the literature review it is observed that globally many construction projects face the issue of delays.
Construction projects in developed countries like USA are also affected by delays [5]. Similarly, construction projects in UK also face the problem delays [6]. Moura et. al. [7] stated that 40% projects in Portugal construction industry experienced delay. Long et al. [8] interviewed 87 construction experts, it was confirmed by the interviewees that delay is regular issue in Thailand construction projects. In Malaysia Endut et. al. [9] investigated the problem of delay in 359 sampled construction projects from both public and private sector. The findings of the study showed that in public sector only 20.5% projects were completed within specified time, while in private sector 33.35% projected were finished in scheduled time period. Falqui [10] studied delay in 2379 construction projects in Saudi Arabia and reported that almost 952 (40%) of the projects suffered from delay. In Oman, Alnuaimi et. al. [11] conducted a survey in stakeholders of construction projects and concluded that almost 40% of the respondents agreed that their projects were affected by delay. Emam et. al. [12] examined the issue of delay in infrastructure projects in Qatar. Results of study showed that 80% of projects experienced delay with average range of 25%. Mahamid [13] studied delay in construction projects in Palestine and found that 76% of the sampled projects suffered from delay. According to Omoregieand Radford [14] delay is a major problem in construction projects in Nigeria. Sambasivanand Soon [15] examined delay in Malaysian construction projects and reported that about 17.3% of the public projects experienced delay.
Like other countries, delay is one of the prime problem in construction industry of Pakistan. This is also confirmed by Sohu et. al. [16] that construction projects in Pakistan are facing the problem of delays, specifically in highway projects. Study carried out by Bangash [17], investigated delays in construction industry of Pakistan and revealed that majority of the projects were 11-30% delayed from their scheduled time.
Various studies have been carried out on construction delays and most of the studies focused on identifying factors of delay. However, little attention has been paid on mitigation measures for the identified causes. Further, causes of delay vary from country to country and compare to project types [1,18]. There is a strong need to explore the cause of delays in highways projects, and to find ways to cope with the problem of construction delays.
Thus the objectives of this study are: (1) To identify main causes of delay in highways project of Pakistan.
(2) To determine mitigation measures for the identified causes of construction delays.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This study used combination of questionnaire survey and semi structured interviews to achieve two objectives of the study. The research method of this study is listed below:

Identification of Causes and Minimization of Delays in Highway Projects of Pakistan
According to Wai et. al. [24] the Cronbach's alpha value should be higher than 0.7, Table 4 shows that Cronbach's alpha is above 0.7, thus the gathered data of questionnaire survey is valid.

Mitigation Measures for Main Causes of Delays
Following the analysis of the questionnaire survey results, the mitigation measures for top 10 causes of delays were investigated by interviewing construction experts. Select contractors having history of timely completion of projects.
Establishing effective communication between contractor and client.

Poor communication among construction parties
Arrange seminars, which highlights partner's responsibility.
Construction stakeholders should participate in meetings.
Establish rules and regulation for communication among construction parties.

Price variation of materials
Using domestic materials.
Purchasing bulk of materials before starting construction activities.
Introduce effective contract with materials supplies.

Errors in design
Client should actively participate in design phase.
Appoint skilled design team.
Proper survey of construction site.

Improper planning
Before initiating project, client should plan strategically.
Adequate site visit before tendering.
Hire proficient staff at the planning section.

Shortage of materials
Establish good working relationship with material suppliers.
There should be proper communication between purchase and store sections.
Make possible proper estimate of required quantity of materials.

Poor contract management
Contracts should be granted on merit bases.
Hire experienced consultant.
Ensure contract documents are enough detailed.

Slow permits by local authorities
Make sure that project is complying with local authorities' development plan.
Submit all required documents to local authority on time.
Construction stake holders should maintain good working relationship with local authorities.
Change in the scope of project Proper assessment should be done before starting project.
Climatic changes of site should be foreseen Ensure effective communication between consultant and client at the design stage.

Discussion
Analysis of the questionnaire survey results in determining top 10 causative factors delay in highway projects of Pakistan.

CONCLUSION
This study concludes that delay is one the main issue in highway projects. Using a questionnaire survey, 26 causes in highway projects of Pakistan were identified.
Th e main causes were poor site man agemen t, in adequate con tr actor exper ien ce an d poor