Al-Mhdawi, M K S; O'Connor, A; Qazi, A; Rahimian, F and Dacre, N (2025) Review of studies on risk factors in critical infrastructure projects from 2011 to 2023. Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, 14(2), pp. 342-376. ISSN 2046-6099
Abstract
Purpose: This research aims to systematically review studies on significant risks for Critical Infrastructure Projects (CIPs) from selected top-tier academic journals from 2011 to 2023. Design/methodology/approach: In this research, a three-step systematic literature review methodology was employed to analyse 55 selected articles on Critical Infrastructure Risks (CIRs) from well-regarded and relevant academic journals published from 2011 to 2023. Findings: The findings highlight a growing research focus on CIRs from 2011 to 2023. A total of 128 risks were identified and grouped into ten distinct categories: construction, cultural, environmental, financial, legal, management, market, political, safety and technical risks. In addition, literature reviews combined with questionnaire surveys were more frequently used to identify CIRs than any other method. Moreover, oil and gas projects were the subjects most often explored in the reviewed papers. Furthermore, it was observed that publications from Iran, the USA and China dominated CIRs research, making significant contributions, accounting for 49.65% of the analysed articles. Research limitations/implications: This research specifically focuses on five types of CIPs (i.e. roadways, bridges, water supply systems, dams and oil and gas projects). Other CIPs like cyber-physical systems or electric power systems, were not considered in this research. Practical implications: Governments and contracting firms can benefit from the findings of this study by understanding the significant risks associated with the execution of CIPs, irrespective of the nation, industry or type of project. The results of this investigation can offer construction professionals valuable insights to formulate and implement risk response plans in the early stages of a project. Originality/value: As a novel literature review related to CIRs, it lays the groundwork for future research and deepens the understanding of the multi-faceted effects of these risks, as well as sets practical response strategies.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction risks; critical infrastructure; risk; risk categorisation; risk identification; systematic literature review; questionnaire survey |
| Index terms: | electric power system, risk factor, strategy, China, literature review, questionnaire, water supply, oil and gas, publication, systematic literature review, risk identification, journal, risk response, construction professional, investigation, survey, accounting, methodology, critical infrastructure |
| Subjects: | management, energy systems, environmental hazards, data collection methods, financial risk, research dissemination and communication, research evaluation and metrics, infrastructure and transport systems, industry analysis, economic analysis, professional development, data analysis and analytics, research methods, Geography |
| Topics: | Information Management, Sustainability, Business Strategy, Geographical Context, Engineering Principles, Research Practice, Cost Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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