ECONOMIC DOWNTURN: POLICIES ADOPTED BY CONSTRUCTION PROFESSIONALS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION COST ESCALATION IN NIGERIA
I.M. Oyemogum1 ; D.T. Dabwor2 & S. Aboh1
1Department of Building, University of Jos
2Department of Economics, University of Jos
Email: egooye@yahoo.co.uk
ABSTRACT
This study was carried out to identify management policies adopted by construction professionals in the management of construction cost escalation in economic downturn in Nigeria. A questionnaire survey was conducted and twenty-seven (27) factors were identified, categorized
into five (5) groups, evaluated and ranked according to respondents’ perspectives. Four hundred (400) questionnaires were distributed as follows: 35 to Surveyors, 79 to Builders, 85 to Civil engineers, Architects 122 and 79 to Contractors and their opinion about management policies
ranges from cost management, cost increment, cost control and cost regulation. The outcome of these analyses showed that all the respondents agreed that construction projects escalation in economic downturn should be manage through cost. However, the analysis indicated that the top
three (3) factors that have the highest ranked index affecting construction cost escalation in economic downturn are government policy and high inflationary trends as one, political interferences and contractor collusion with corporate extortion as two and fraudulent contract and procurement management practices as three. Based on these findings, this study recommended the need for direct government intervention on taxes, single interest rate for borrowing, stabilization of the exchange rate and innovations by construction professionals in pre-construction and construction phase.Keywords: Economic downturn, construction cost escalation, construction cost overruns, construction cost management.
