The Level of Existence and Impact of Cost and Time Overruns of Building Construction Projects in Ghana

The construction industry has over the years been challenged with cost and time overruns of construction projects all over the world including Ghana. This problem has become a major concern to all the stakeholders of construction industry in Ghana. This study attempts to identify and establish the level of existence of cost and time overruns of building construction projects in Ghana, its causes and its relative effect on the construction industry and offers recommendations to minimize or curbs it. A survey which relied heavily on questionnaires was used to elicit opinions from Quantity Surveyors, Architects and Project/Construction Managers in key institutions in the Ghanaian construction industry such as client organisations, contracting firms and consulting firms. The purposive, convenience and snowball sampling techniques were used and out of 120 questionnaires distributed, 89 were received. The findings showed that cost and time overruns exist in more than 40% of building construction projects in Ghana. It was also identified and established that cost and time overruns of building construction projects in Ghana exceed 40% of estimated project cost and time. It was further established that, public building construction projects in Ghana had an alarming average cost and time overruns of 75% and 146% respectively with a maximum limits of cost and time overruns of 376% and 400% respectively, whereas, private building construction projects in Ghana, rather had a relatively lower average cost and time overruns of 34% and 77% respectively, with maximum limits of cost and time overruns of 98% and 300% respectively. The study further identified 34 and 38 significant causes of cost and time overruns respectively, as well as 15 significant effects. This study has not only filled the gap in existing literature on the subject in Ghana, but has also made recommendations which will improve and minimize the occurrence of cost and time overruns of construction projects in Ghana. Keywords: Level of Existence, Impact, Cost Overrun, Time Overrun, Building Construction Project