Abstract
The performance of construction projects in emerging economies is crucial for sustainable infrastructure development. Adequate project selection and planning is key for project performance, but the extent and quality of project selection are a niggling worry. The study aimed to determine the causes of project abandonment and identify factors to improve infrastructure project selection and planning processes. A distillation of extant literature was conducted from credible databases, including Google Scholar, Science Direct, ASCE Library, Scopus, and Emerald, mostly spanning twenty years (2002 - 2022). Materials used included journals, conference proceedings, and online reports. The study identified reasons for the failure and abandonment of public projects, including insufficient feasibility studies, political interference, corruption, fund misallocation, and design flaws. It suggests enhancing project selection through political accountability, investment guidance, formal selection processes, detailed design, and thorough evaluation of implementation strategies. Project stakeholders can make informed choices, promoting better project development and sustainability.