Development of Risk Management Framework for Construction Projects in Pakistan

Abstract

Managing risks in construction projects is documented as a very important management process to achieve the project objectives mainly time, quality, cost, safety and environmental sustainability. Present research seeks to identify and evaluate these risks along with the effective mitigation measures thus developing a risk management framework which the investors/ developers/ contractors can adopt while contracting construction works in Pakistan. Through literature review twenty seven risks were identified which were categorized into three hierarchical levels (country, market and project). The critical nature of these risks to construction projects was evaluated and ranked through a survey all over Pakistan. Practical mitigation measures were also proposed for each risk and included in the survey for getting the sequential priority while handling a risk. Face to face, electronic mail and postal questionnaire surveys were used to collect data. Analysis of the data showed that the risks at Country level are more critical than that at Market level and the latter are more critical than that in Project level. Survey revealed that top 11 critical risks in construction projects are: Cost Overrun, Corruption, Political Instability, Inflation and Interest rate, Government Influence on Disputes, Disputed sites, Human Resource, Market Demand, Change in Law, Justice Reinforcement, and Low Construction Productivity. All of the mitigation measures were perceived by the respondents of the survey at the minimum level of “effective”. A Risk model, which shows the hierarchical levels of the risks and the influence relationship among the risks, is developed. Based on the findings of survey, a risk mitigation framework has finally been proposed which will make the risk management process for construction projects relatively simple.