Ameh, O J; Soyingbe, A A and Odusami, K T (2010) Significant factors causing cost overruns in telecommunication projects in Nigeria. Journal of Construction in Developing Countries, 15(2), pp. 49-67. ISSN 1823-6499
Abstract
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) provides enormous benefits to economic development. However, cost overruns are a worldwide phenomenon and pose a serious threat to the development of telecommunication infrastructure, which is the platform for ICT. It is imperative to examine the possible factors that could lead to cost overruns, in order to avert the associated catalytic effects on the development of other sectors of the economy. This study involves a questionnaire survey of 42 factors that were identified as having the potential to cause cost overruns in 53 telecommunication projects that are scattered over the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. The results indicated that construction-related factors top the list of categories that cause cost overruns in telecommunication projects. The following factors were identified as major causes of cost overruns and are ranked in their order of importance: the lack of contractor experience on the telecommunication projects, the high cost of imported materials and the fluctuation in the prices of materials that are necessary for the telecommunication projects. The study recommends that contingency provisions should be put in place to mitigate these factors at the project conception stage.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | cost overrun; factors; infrastructure; Nigeria; telecommunication projects |
| Index terms: | survey, information and communication technology, economic development, questionnaire, telecommunication, Nigeria, cost overrun, platform |
| Subjects: | digital design, Geography, economic development, financial and cost management, communication, computing systems, data collection methods |
| Topics: | Sustainability, Cost Management, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Engineering Principles, Digital Applications |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here