Assessment of Delay Causes of Construction Projects in Palestine

Delays in the construction industry are a global phenomenon and the construction industry in Palestine is no exception. The construction sector is one of the most important economic sectors in Palestine; this research discusses the importance of studying the construction sector through the identification of gaps between theory and practice associated with delays in the completion of construction projects. The importance of this research comes from what appeared in the past few years, the exposure of most construction projects in the West Bank to delay or to increase in the cost or both, so the continuation of this phenomenon affects the progress of the construction industry, as it may expose some relevant institutions to collapse. The main purpose of this study is to identify the most important factors that delay the completion of projects and their effect, by taking a representative sample from each of the engineering offices, the owners, and the contractors, then analyze to obtain the results help to achieve the goal of this research. This study done during the period (2012-2014). The objectives of this research achieved through viewing many of the research and references for previous studies, which included study delay factors in many countries , and through making set of interviews with some contract parties to identify the delays causes, Also, a questionnaire was designed and distributed to each of the contracting companies, consulting engineering offices, and owners’ institutions in the main three cities in the West Bank includes: (Hebron in south, Ramallah in medium and Nablus in north) to assess importance degree of these causes. Upon the results of this research show that referral of bids to the lowest price, incorrect and inappropriate bid pricing, lack of sufficient cash for project implementation, contractor failure to regulate the cash flow of the project, and Irregular cash flow for the project on owner's side are the main causes for projects delay. It also concluded many implications of the delay, including: an increase in cost, the large number of delayed projects affect the community, the weakness of productivity, lack of revenues, conflicts, trial, and litigation between the parties of the contract. Based on the results of the study, the researcher developed some of the proposed solutions that help avoid or minimize the causes of delay, such as : find suitable mechanism for the process of evaluating and awarding tenders without resorting always a lower price, should be available to the contractor sufficient experience in the bidding pricing , adequate financial resources of the contractor to cover project expenses, must provide financial payments by the owner to the contractor on time without delays cause obstacles in the workflow, work of the tender documents by the consultant properly to avoid variation order and problems caused due to errors and provide project manager with enough experience to manage the project . Based on the results of this research, a framework has been developed to be an effective tool to help all parties to avoid causes of delay. Finally, recommendations have been developed for each of the contracting parties (owner, consultant, contractor), Engineers Association and Palestinian Contractors Union were presented in this research in order minimize and avoid the delays causes and get projects completed within the planned schedule.