Stakeholder perceptions of drivers for, and barriers to, the incorporation of sustainability in PPP infrastructure projects in Nigeria

Abstract

Purpose Although several studies have been undertaken on sustainability within infrastructure projects, limited attention has paid to the drivers for, and the barriers to, the incorporation of sustainability in public–private partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects through empirical study, particularly in Nigeria. Therefore, this study aims to identify and examine the drivers that promote sustainability in Nigerian PPP infrastructure projects and assess the barriers to the full integration of sustainability practices into current Nigerian PPP infrastructure projects. Design/methodology/approach Primary data were collected using a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire survey was targeted on four different stakeholders’ organizations. They were public sector authorities, concessionaires, consultants and banks already undertaking PPP infrastructure projects in Lagos State, Nigeria. The obtained data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean score, standard deviation and the Kruskal–Wallis test. Findings The study identified 17 drivers that promote the incorporation of sustainability in PPP infrastructure projects. The analysis of the total ranking of the drivers in Nigeria revealed the top five ranked drivers to be: consideration of long-term performance; contractual arrangements; incentives for new market penetration; award criteria; and selection criteria, respectively. The study further identified 11 barriers to sustainability integration in PPP infrastructure projects and the top five ranked barriers in Nigeria are as follows: comprehensive sustainability procurement guidelines; no enabling environment; education needs; uncertain economic environment; and a lack of clear government policy, respectively. The results of the Kruskal–Wallis test conducted on both the 17 identified drivers for, and the 11 barriers to, the incorporation of sustainability in Nigerian PPP infrastructure projects revealed that there is no significant statistical difference in both rankings from the perceptions of the aforementioned four different respondents’ groups. Research limitations/implications The study provides empirical insights on the knowledge and awareness of drivers which could lead to a greater uptake in sustainability measures by the stakeholders in Nigerian PPP projects; it also identified barriers to overcome. Originality/value The importance of the incorporation of sustainability in public procurement cannot be over-emphasized. It is anticipated that the study will be of great value to PPP stakeholders involved in sustainability decision-making processes when delivering sustainable PPP projects.

How does contract flexibility affect the sustainability performance of public–private partnership projects? A serial multiple mediator model

“…Therefore, continued efforts are required to evaluate existing sustainability policies and plans for improving outcomes (Park and Krause, 2021). Babatunde et al (2020b) identified drivers and barriers that facilitate the integration of sustainability into PPP infrastructure projects. In addition, to fully integrate sustainability, appropriate government policies should be implemented along with concerted efforts by the public and private sectors to create an environment conducive to the full integration of sustainability principles.…”

“…Therefore, continued efforts are required to evaluate existing sustainability policies and plans for improving outcomes (Park and Krause, 2021). Babatunde et al. (2020b) identified drivers and barriers that facilitate the integration of sustainability into PPP infrastructure projects.…”

Editorial

“…All authors of these issues are nonwestern. There were nine articles on urban issues (Wiedman and Wang, 2020; Zohou et al , 2020; El-Kholei, 2020a; İnce et al , 2020; Ferah, 2020; El-Kholei, 2020b; Ammar et al , 2020; Lingyan and Ming, 2020); two articles on academic research in architecture (Salama and Hurol, 2020; Hurol, 2020), three articles on memory/place/tectonic affects (Tang et al , 2020; Ghelichkhani, 2020; Aksel and Imamoglu, 2020), two articles on the issues of plurality and polyphonic approaches (Salama and Hurol, 2020; El-Ashmouni and Salama, 2020); one article on decolonialism and cosmopolitanism (El-Ashmouni and Salama, 2020); one article on parametric design (Tünger and Taşlı Pektaş, 2020); two articles on photovoltaic facilities (Krstic-Furundzic et al , 2020; Ibrahim, 2020); one article on transformation and social change (Al-Betawi et al , 2020); two articles on sustainability and cittaslow (İnce et al , 2020; Babatunde, 2020); two articles on architectural education (Rauf, 2020; Pasha, 2020); one article on conservation of built-heritage (Thirumaran et al , 2020); one article on traditional villages (Huang and Yuanyuan, 2020); one article on post-war reconstruction (Kudumovic, 2020) and one article on post-pandemic environment (Ghada and Gharib, 2020). Some articles combined double keywords.…”

Management of defect claims in infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka

“…Infrastructure projects play a significant role in community development and significantly contribute to a country's economic growth (Martinsuo et al, 2019). However, infrastructure projects are complex, time-consuming, incorporate high risk and externalities, and require more irreversible investments than building projects (Babatunde et al, 2020). At the pre-contract stage, infrastructure projects face difficulties due to some complex tasks that deal with significant community influence, such as land acquisitions, utility relocations, and environmental, forest, and other clearances (Babatunde & Perera, 2017).…”