Investigation of Contributing Factors for Smart Parking Development Projects Delay:The Case of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

Considering the increase of urban population and traffic congestion, smart parking is always a strategic issue to work on, not only in the research field but also from economic interests. The existing and ongoing works on smart parking are complicated and Trans disciplinary. The construction industry is one of the main sectors that provide important ingredients for the development of an economy. However it is becoming more complex because of the sophistication of the construction process itself and the large number of parties involved in the construction process. Delay in construction project completion is a global phenomenon that occurs in the construction industry and considered as one of the most common problems causing a multitude of negative effects on the project. The objective of this study is to identify the major determinants factor smart parking project delay. Both primary and secondary data were used in this study. A survey questionnaire was structured and distributed to contractor, consultant, client and subcontractor who were working in smart parking construction projects. The questionnaire included 30 predefined factors, which were grouped into six major factors, client, contractor, and consultant, and material, external and labor factors. The relative importance index (RII) was determined and the factors were ranked within their groups and overall. The results showed that the group of client factors ranked first among the six groups. The top ten factors causing delay of smart parking projects are: delay in subcontractors , slow in decision making by client, delay in delivering the site to the contractor, Dollar insecure in government, delay in obtaining permits from municipality, less capacity to admin the project, lack in qualified labors/shortage of qualified engineers, shortage of construction materials, late procurement of materials and Ineffective planning and scheduling of projects. Finally, recommendations have been developed for each of the contract parties' client, contractor, consultant and subcontractor where present in this research in order to minimize and avoid the delay factor and get the project completed within the planned schedule.