Cost Reduction Techniques in Public Higher Educational Buildings in Southwestern Nigeria: Awareness Among Project Participants

Abstract

Building projects delivered within higher educational institutions are often left unfinished or finished more than the initial cost, exceeding the duration and not up to standard. This is largely due to several factors affecting the cost and time performance of the educational building projects funded by TETfund, HEIs internally generated revenue and private organisation donors. The study assessed project participants’ awareness of cost-reduction techniques in delivering educational building projects in Nigeria. This study focused on educational building projects deliver in the public HEIs in Southwestern Nigeria. A questionnaire survey was conducted among the stakeholders that participated in constructing educational buildings in the public HEIs in Southwestern Nigeria from 2012-2022 as contractors or consultants. The study employed percentage, mean, and Kruskal-Wallis H Test for data analysis. Result show supply chain management, target value design, budget control, earned value analysis and value analysis/engineering as the top known cost reduction techniques among all the project participants. The study concludes that to improve cost and time performance in the delivery of educational building projects, project participants must understand various cost reductions techniques to deliver projects within cost and time estimate.