Abstract
There exist Limited statistical data and research on abandoned projects exist globally and in Ghana in particular. Most studies have revealed that construction is a key activity within any economy since it influences, and is influenced by a nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). In Ghana, the construction industry plays an important role in the national economy, serving as an avenue for employment and contributing to the GDP. Governments usually seek external financial aid to undertake such projects. However, as the result of a number of constraints peculiar to those countries, many such projects usually end up being uncompleted, abandoned or unsustainable owing to reasons such as lack of funding, inappropriateness of the contract conditions, unilateral enactment of government laws, inflationary trends, and contractors’ management techniques. The Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) was established as a policy response to the challenge of funding education to provide funding to supplement government budgetary allocations at all levels of education. The main object of the Fund is to provide finance to supplement the vision of education by the government at all levels. Nonetheless, GETFund building projects have also faced project abandonment. Project abandonment affects the success of the project and its manifestations, which include reduction in project scope, change in specifications and/or aesthetical features, cost and time overruns and high fluctuation claims.
The study seeks to assess the abandonment of GETFund building projects in Ghanaian tertiary institutions. A quantitative research approach was used for this study to determine the causes that lead to the abandonment of GETFund building projects in tertiary institutions, to assess the effects of abandonment of the building projects, evaluate the CSFs of executing GETFund projects, and suggest possible solutions to mitigate abandonment of GETFund building projects, which will help improve the construction environment in the tertiary institutions. The target population was construction professionals in the Ghanaian construction industry, namely Metropolitan Municipal District Assemblies (MMDAs), government consultants such as Architectural and Engineering Services Limited (AESL), Public Works Department (PWD), contractors of GETFund projects and administrators of GETFund projects. This study adopted the purposive sampling technique because the desired population for the study was difficult to recruit for the study. This procedure allowed for only those who could provide the required information to be contacted. A questionnaire, presented in a Google Forms format, was distributed to the respondents online through emails and WhatsApp. Once each questionnaire had been completed, there was a confirmation email received which indicated that the
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questionnaire had been filled correctly. A total of 127 questionnaires was received out of 150 distributed to the respondent. A five-point Likert scale was then transformed into the mean item score (MIS) for each of the causes, effects, CSFs and possible solutions to mitigate the abandoned GETFund building projects approaches as assessed by the respondents. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was carried out to explore the overall data and determine the factors and clusters of factors measured by the questionnaire. Political factors, poor cash flow management, project cost control issues, lack of an appropriate dispute resolution method, non-payment of interim claims, inappropriate contractual arrangements, financial difficulties faced by the client (government), and lack of cooperation from local authorities were identified as external-related factors that cause GETFund projects to be abandoned. The study concludes that the three key factors responsible for the abandonment of GETfund building projects in Ghana are project characteristics, external factors, and executors’ factors. The study recommended that CSFs needed for the execution of GETFund projects in the Ghanaian tertiary institutions include effective government and projects managers’ participation.
Keywords: Project abandonment, GETFund, tertiary institutions, construction industry, Ghana.