Addressing Construction Delays in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The work reported in this paper is the part of the PhD study which aims to outline the main causes of delay in public building projects in KSA with their relative importance. The delay is a key issue in the construction industry globally and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is not an exception. The latest statistics show that approximately 70% public sector projects in KSA have been delayed in the past decade. As a result, the construction projects in KSA are facing a huge financial loss, a compromise in quality, and long waiting times to operate the project for public services. In this context, the study aims to contribute to the discussion by outlining the main causes of delay in public building projects in Saudi Arabia with their relative importance. For this purpose, a comprehensive literature was reviewed and a construction industry survey was conducted using questionnaires in KSA. A total of 98 out of 182 questionnaires were collected as survey data. The survey included 63 delay factors and the participants were asked to indicate their degree of importance. The causes of delay were grouped into 4 categories such as owner/client related factors, contractor related factors, consultant related factors, and external factors. The findings of the paper suggest that the contractor and owner/client related factors are the most critical factors that cause to delay the construction projects in Saudi Arabia. After discovering the key causes, an attempt will be made in the second part of the research paper to develop a risk management framework/model to eliminate or to minimise the impact of delays in the construction projects.