CAUSES OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECT FAILURES AND ABANDONEMTS IN NIGERIA
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Abandoned projects and construction failure including building and other civil engineering infrastructure development project like houses, churches, schools, roads, bridges, dams, tunnels, air port, sea port etc. litter the whole Nigeria. Osemenan (1987) reported that Nigeria has become the “world’s junk-yard of abandoned and failed projects worth billions of naira and it is greatly unthinkable that Nigeria blessed with so great potentials in the building and construction industry can experience such magnitude of project failure and abandonment. According to another report by
Kotangora (1993) there are about 4000 uncompleted or abandoned project belonging to the Federal Government of Nigeria with an estimated cost of above N 300 billion which will take 30 years to complete at the present execution capacity of government, also according to him this issue of abandonment and construction project failure is been left without adequate attention for too long which is now having a multiplier effect on the construction industry in particular and the national economy as a whole. The building and construction industry plays a very dominant role in the economy of any nation. A healthy economy usually experience an increase in building and construction activities, but in a depressed economy, the incidence of project abandonment and construction failures tends to be more prevalent. Akindoyeni (1989) qualitatively reasoned that some of the causes of project abandonment and construction failure in Nigeria are deaths of client, inability of client to attract fund and lack of good planning.
The abandonment of development projects is the act of discontinuing any activities or maintenance works on such development project within a time frame of the contract agreement and with no intention of returning back to the development (Spelman, 1993). Similarly, O’Flaherty (1993) while reflecting on property development projects suggest that it is when an owner or developer is ceasing to provide the required maintenance management to a developed property. There could also be construction failure due to improper planning.
However, real property development projects being a capital intensive undertaking should be critically analyzed to ascertain its feasibility and viability before embarking on it. But, on several occasions and as it had been observed, governments, contractors and agencies have abandoned development projects mid-way into construction and completion.