Construction delays in developing countries: A review

Construction delay is one of the basic constrains to achieve the project objectives in developing countries. This study aims to find the causes and effects of construction delays in developing countries. A thorough literature review has been done following the content analysis method. The relevant literature of 28 developing countries was collected from the scholarly journals published in the period of 2006 to 2016. The different developing countries are grouped into three geographic regions, i.e. South and Southeast Asia, Middle East, and Africa. In these regions, total 53 potential causes of delay under 8 major groups are identified. Frequency and ranking of these factors have been done. The factors, delay in progress payment by owner, contractors’ cash flow problem, improper planning and scheduling, poor site management, and change order by owner during construction, are acknowledged as critical causes of delay in developing countries. This study will assist both academic and professional experts providing more insight about the construction delays and project management in developing countries.