Risk Management and Building Project Delivery in Anambra State, Nigeria

Abstract

Frequent delays, cost overruns, and poor-quality outcomes continue to undermine building construction project delivery in Anambra State, Nigeria, necessitating the need to evaluate the underlying causes of these inefficiencies. This study examined the effects of internal and external risk factors on project performance and identified the most critical risks influencing delivery outcomes. A survey research design was adopted, and structured questionnaires were distributed to 172 built environment professionals, including Architects, Builders, Engineers, and Quantity Surveyors, out of which 132 responses were validated, representing a 76.7% response rate. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as mean score and standard deviation, and results were ranked by significance. Findings revealed that among internal risks, inaccurate cost estimation (mean = 4.71), delays in approval/documentation (mean = 4.49), and poor scheduling (mean = 4.49) ranked highest, indicating that financial and managerial inefficiencies critically affect project performance. For external risks, legislation and government policy (mean = 4.71), financial failure (mean = 4.49), and political changes (mean = 4.33) were most influential, reflecting regulatory and economic instability. The dominant impacts of these risks were cost overrun and time overrun, these factors collectively led to (mean = 5.00), followed by project abandonment (mean = 3.92), underscoring the severe implications of poor planning and weak risk control. It therefore recommends enforcing strict cost and schedule controls, strengthening financial and risk management systems, ensuring policy stability, and enhancing project monitoring. Furthermore, capacity building, stakeholder collaboration, and digital project management adoption should be prioritized to enhance efficiency and sustainability.