Abstract
M.Tech. (Quantity Surveying)
Construction disputes happen fairly often: they are a reality on every construction project and could happen at any stage during the design or construction phase of the project. The objective of this study is to investigate the causes - and effects of disputes in construction projects however, the study has revealed that stakeholders play a significant role in dispute causation as a result of disputes by the client, consultant - , or contractors, and through design deficiency. Moreover, primary findings from the study outlines four major categories of dispute causation such as construction related causes of disputes; financial/economical causes of disputes, management causes of disputes and contract related causes of disputes. This study further reveals that when disputes are not resolved in timeously, they become very expensive – in terms of finances, personnel, time, and opportunity costs. The visible expenses (e.g., attorneys, expert witnesses, the dispute resolution process itself) alone are significant. The less visible costs (e.g., company resources assigned to the dispute, lost business opportunities) and the intangible costs (e.g., damage to business relationships, potential value lost due to inefficient dispute resolution) are also considerable, although difficult or impossible to quantify, However, if disputes could be minimized and approached accordingly many disputes could be avoided. Nevertheless, if a dispute is not resolved promptly, it may escalate and ultimately require litigation proceedings which can be extremely costly for the parties concerned and even damage business relationships. The study is conducted with reference to existing literature, and unpublished and published research. Hence, this study explores the causes and effects of construction disputes and presents a robust background to the theories of construction project disputes.