Causes and effects of delays in construction of medium scale drinking water supply projects in Sri Lanka

Most of the infrastructure developments are carried out on project basis. Construction projects frequently suffer from delay, though there are many sophisticated tools and techniques available for construction project management. This paper presents the results of a questionnaire survey conducted to identify and rank the causes and effects of delays in construction of medium scale drinking water supply projects in Sri Lanka. Both Severity Index (SI) and Frequency Index (FI) were used to rank the importance of the factors and the findings of the study indicate that inclement weather conditions, contractors' financial difficulties, shortage of labour, rules and regulations of road authorities, delays in sub contractors' work, material import delays and ineffective planning and scheduling of projects by contractors are among the most important factors causing delay in construction of medium scale drinking water supply projects. Moreover, time overruns, cost overruns, funding difficulties, development of unfair relationships among the parties and disputes are the most important effects due to delay. Delays are costly for both clients and contractors and often result in disputes and claims. Therefore in order to improve the situation and avoid / mitigate delays in construction of medium scale water supply projects, several prescriptions are recommended for clients and contractors