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Causes of delays in the construction phase of Chinese building projects

Ting-Kwei Wang (School of Construction Management and Real Estate, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China)
David N. Ford (Zachry Department of Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA)
Heap-Yih Chong (Department of Construction Management, Curtin University, Perth, Australia)
Wei Zhang (Faculty of Construction Management and Real Estate, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China)

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management

ISSN: 0969-9988

Article publication date: 17 October 2018

Issue publication date: 22 October 2018

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Abstract

Purpose

Delays during construction are one of the common scenarios in the construction industry. The purpose of this paper is to identify the primary causes of delays in the construction phase of building construction projects in China.

Design/methodology/approach

Questionnaire survey approach was adopted across the four typical cities in China, namely, Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Shenzhen. In total, 115 sets of valid responded questionnaires were collected and analyzed.

Findings

The results show that the causes of variations, delays in progress payments, exceptionally low bids and subcontractors’ poor performance and communication issues were the most important causes of delays in China.

Originality/value

This research is the first questionnaire survey on the causes of delays in the construction phase of building construction projects in China. The comparative analysis shows two unique causes of delays in the Chinese construction industry, such as “difficulty in claiming indemnity” and “unreasonable upfront capital demanded by client.” It also reveals different ranked causes of delays as per distinguished political and economic situations in China. The research findings can be referred by construction projects in other countries that are funded or partnered with China.

Keywords

Citation

Wang, T.-K., Ford, D.N., Chong, H.-Y. and Zhang, W. (2018), "Causes of delays in the construction phase of Chinese building projects", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 25 No. 11, pp. 1534-1551. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-10-2016-0227

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

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