Causes of delays in the construction phase of Chinese building projects
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management
ISSN: 0969-9988
Article publication date: 17 October 2018
Issue publication date: 22 October 2018
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
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited