Root Causes of Delays in the Construction Projects in the UAE Public Sector and the Client’s Project Manager role in Mitigation

Abstract

The problem of delay is very common in the construction industry of the UAE public sector, and since that most projects of the public sector are governmental, the authorities hire project managers to represent them to manage the projects and deliver it within the time, cost, and quality required. This research aims to determine the root causes of delays in the construction projects in the UAE public sector, and the main role of the client’s project manager in mitigating the delays, and to demonstrate the key competencies that they must have in order to deliver the projects of the UAE public sector successfully. Qualitative and quantitative methods were approached to investigate the research problem, answer the research questions, meet the research objectives, and achieve the research aim. The research revealed that the main causes of delays in the construction projects are related to the principal project participants, the client, the consultant, and the contractor, while the minor causes of delays are related mainly to the ineffective performance of the contractor. The research indicates that the main causes of delays in the construction projects in the UAE public sector are related to contractual, financial, and technical issues. In addition, the research results show that the client project manager must be able to adopt the new technologies and tools of project management, and should have strong soft skills in order to deliver the project successfully. furthermore, the project manager must have enough experience and knowledge in the laws and regulations of the country, condition of contracts, clear understanding of the project objectives and the client’s requirements, and the scope of work of each stakeholder in the project to be able to maintain the project’s main constraints. The research ascertain that the potential risks of the project must be identified at a very early stage of the project and prior the commencement date by the client’s project manager to avoid the negative impact of them on the project.