ESTIMATING REQUIRED CONTINGENCY FUNDS FOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS USING MULTPLE LINEAR REGRESSION

This research identified significant factors that may influence, or serve as indicators of, potential cost overruns in construction projects. The study used multiple linear regression to analyze data available prior to contract award from 203 construction projects over a full range of project types and scopes. While the proposed model captures 44 % of actual cost overruns, its application reduces average contingency budgeting error from-11.2 % to only-0.3 % for the test sample