Causes of Delay in Construction Projects in Bangladesh

Construction delay is a common problem worldwide, which is considered as one of the main reasons for project failure. Bangladesh construction industry is no exception. This study investigated the main causes of delay in large building construction projects in Bangladesh. A questionnaire survey was conducted to determine the causes of delay from owners, consultants, and contractors of large building construction projects. About 70 respondents participated in the survey. Using the importance index analysis, the study identified 10 most important causes of delay from a list of 30 different causes. Ten most important causes were: (1) lack of experienced construction manager, (2) lowest bidder selection, (3) funding shortage by owner, (4) lack of proper management, (5) improper planning and scheduling, (6) lack of skilled workers, (7) site constraints, (8) contractors' cash flow problems during construction, (9) escalation of resources price, and (10) contractors' excessive workload. Furthermore, Kruskal-Wallis test indicates that there is no significant variation exists among the three group of respondents, ie owners, consultants and contractors.