Name

Question and Response

Saroj Pradhan (Deputy Director General (DDG), DoR)

Res_1a. MOV

Q—Almost all of the projects are delayed, what are the causes for delay in the project in your experience?

A—In terms of project management practice, there is a lack of stakeholder analysis. Due to this, land disputes, tree-cutting and disputes in shifting of utility occur. Sometimes, the local community demands other projects rather than a selected project. Local issues arise after the project is initiated. So, stakeholder analysis must be done first. Stakeholder analysis includes the availability of construction material, availability of local workers, skilled/unskilled workers, labor supply, etc.

There is also poor portfolio management. Improper financial management and a lack of running capital cause delays in work. Thirdly, the supply is not consistent. Sometimes there would be a lack of fuel, plastic material, construction materials,

machinery parts, etc. that cause a delay in the project. Overall, there is very poor planning. Sometimes there may be some defects in design too.

Market analysis, business analysis, preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR), return analysis, etc. have not been done on time. Likewise, environmental impact, social impact, and other issues are ignored. Land acquisition, compensation settlement, forest issue, a market analysis must be studied. Projects are executed straight away without studying these factors. Unavailability of construction material(s), lack of labor supply, poor site preparation, lack of utility relocation, etc. causes time extension, price escalation and leads to project delay. Overall, there is a problem with inaccurate planning.

There is also a site management problem. Due to lack of knowledge, skillful and capable manpower, human resources shift from one to another hampers the project. Equipment supply, fuel supply, electricity supply, even the lack of resource management causes many of the delays of the project.

Arjun Jang Thapa (DDG DoR)

Res_2a. MOVRes2b.MOV

Q—Almost all of the projects are delayed, what are the causes for delay in the project in your experience?

A—Project delay may result in many circumstances during construction. Firstly, the government seems to have contracted without planning and preparation. For example, detailed design, feasibility study, environmental impact study, etc. should be done before contracting the project. But, without doing these, projects are reserved by influencing some officials in concerned departments. But, such projects are not included in the budget and then the problems start.

A proper project plan should be prepared before implementation. For example, the length of the road, standards of design and construction, etc. should be planned before implementing any project. In the same way, land acquisition, telephone, and electricity lines, drinking water pipes, etc. should be removed first. At times the projects are selected without any of such preparation(s).

Designs of bridges, on some occasions, are prepared without in-depth study. Such cheating during the design phase may create problems in implementing the project.

Improper soil exploration, lack of detailed survey, preparing reports without in-depth study, etc. also affect the project adversely. Similarly, soil tests, if not done properly, can sometimes lead to geological failure and the engineering design has to be changed.

Some contractors invest the advance payment received from the project in the Real Estate market or any other side businesses. This again causes a delay in the project. Some projects are delayed due to contractor's negative cash-flow, lack of technical capacity, lack of sufficient equipment, and human resources, etc.

Deepak Bhattarai (DDG DoR)

Res_3. MOVRes _3a.MOVRes _3b.MOV

Q—Almost all of the projects are delayed, what are the causes for delay in the project in your experience?

A—There are many causes of project delay experienced in Nepal. First is the lack of project preparation from the very beginning. Problems are seen in project planning, design, and contract too. Many other factors contribute to delay in projects and those include-insufficient time in planning and preparation, absence of risk analysis and problem analysis, improper project planning/scheduling, etc.

Secondly, all the contractors are not capable of handling all types and sizes of projects. Except for limited contractors, the others are incapable of management skills, have insufficient construction equipment(s), and lack of skilled human resources. This lack of capability of handling project does impact adversely on the running projects. There are weaknesses in resource mobilization and also lack of critical analysis which might affect the work schedule of any project.

In the same way, there are some weaknesses in contract administration too. Projects are requesting bids before the relocation of project affected families, land acquisition, tree cutting, site preparation, etc. Lack of machines causes a delay in construction which affects the whole project schedule.

Inadequate financial management also delays the project. Inadequate fund allocation causes delays in payment to suppliers and contractors and works get halted. The contractor even has to pay extra interest in such circumstances. Similarly, slow response and poor inspection, lack of skilled human resource, lack of coordination between contractor and employer, lack of contract operation manual are the main factors affecting the project.