The Impact of COVID-19 on the GCC Construction Industry

Abstract

The Coronavirus pandemic has badly affected everyone on the earth. Apart from losing thousands of lives, businesses and individuals are going to be affected by the long-lasting financial effects due to an expected global recession. The impact of the financial crises can, however, be reduced if proper measured are put in place. This article aims to investigate the impact of Coronavirus on the construction industry in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries and provide recommendations to help the industry to sustain during this period of crisis. A qualitative research method involving face-to-face online interviews held with the construction industry professionals was adopted to achieve the aims and objectives of the research. Four main aspects of the impact on the construction industry are derived from analysis of interviews: 1) delays, 2) workforce management, 3) health and safety, and 4) legal issues. Recommendations are provided so that construction organizations in the GCC region can reduce the impact of Coronavirus on its businesses.

COVID-19 pandemic and construction industry: Impacts, emerging construction safety practices, and proposed crisis management

“…Hussain et al (2019) describes that adoption of research methodology to classify the best findings for study is a significant task. Umar (2022) identified that two elements including specific research questions and investigation of specific topic while reviewing the research technique are very important for researchers to encounter the research methodologies. Jobber et al (1991) identified that supporting of one methodology on the basis of some advantages is totally wrong because every methodology has some pros and cons.…”

The Impact of the Corona Pandemic on the Project Management Process in Jordan

“…The questionnaire was developed based on the previous similar studies. The researcher depended on (Rehman et al, 2021;Ogunnusi et al, 2021;Ayat-Kang, 2021;Umar, 2022;Walker, 2015;Heagney, 2016;White-Fortune, 2002;Cleland, 2007;Picciotto, 2020;Larsson-Larsson, 2020;San Cristóbal et al, 2018;Borkovskaya, 2018;Mavi-Standing, 2018;Jugdev et al, 2019) in building the questionnaire.…”

“…Source: Based on Ayat & Kang (2021), Umar (2022), Cleland (2007), Picciotto (2020) Also, the results show that the paragraph "There is an impact of the Corona pandemic on discovering errors during the implementation process" has the highest approval by the sample members by (4.2), The results show that the Corona pandemic has affected the process of discovering errors during the project implementation process, and this impact can be more negative than positive, as the pandemic may have reduced the control roles through the absence of some employees specialized in oversight, or through laws that forced Companies to condone some practices that workers may perform, such as absence from work due to quarantine requirements or absence due to illness.…”

Managing construction delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK construction industry

“…Productivity problems are experienced throughout the entire supply chain, with many projects relying on materials from overseas. COVID-19 has reduced the productivity of construction workers since its inception (Boamah et al, 2022;Umar, 2022). Furthermore, in terms of construction organisation resilience, Chih et al (2022) suggested short and long-term planning for all eventualities.…”