Risk Management Practices and Performance of Road Construction Projects by Kenya Urban Roads Construction Authority in Nairobi City County, Kenya
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Date
2024-11
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Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
The effectiveness of road construction projects by the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) in Nairobi has been questioned due to various challenges leading to poor outcomes. According to a 2023 KURA report, over 60 percent of projects in the past five years have faced delays, with about 15 percent halted due to funding issues and contractor inefficiencies. Many projects have exceeded budgets by 30-50 percent due to inadequate planning and rising material costs. Additionally, an estimated 25 percent of projects used substandard materials, compromising road safety and longevity. A survey found that over 70 percent of newly constructed roads require immediate maintenance within the first year, indicating significant construction deficiencies. This particular study aimed to determine how risk management practices influence the performance of the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) road construction projects in Nairobi County, Kenya. Specific objectives involved examining how the following risk a management practices, transfer, prevention, control, and retention influence performance of road construction project done by KURA. The main theories considered in this study were Systems Theory, Uncertainty Theory, and Contingency Theory. The research design utilized for this study was cross-sectional. The study population consisted of project managers, engineers, supervisors, surveyors, environmentalists, risk managers, construction firm staff, and government/KURA officials from eight road construction projects in Nairobi County that were successfully completed between 2015 and 2021. This population comprised a total of 200 individuals. From this population, a sample of 134 participants was randomly selected. Questionnaires were used to collect relevant information for the study, and the reliability of the research instruments was assessed using a coefficient value of above 0.7. To ensure the validity and reliability of the questionnaires, a pilot study was conducted with 10 percent of the participants. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation) and inferential analysis (multiple regression), with additional diagnostic tests such as correlation, normality, and multicollinearity assessments to ensure the data's integrity. The results were visually represented through a combination of tables, graphs, and pie charts. Ethical considerations were carefully addressed during the course of the study. The study found that risk transfer, risk prevention, risk control management practices and risk retention had a positive significant effect on performance of road construction projects in Nairobi County, Kenya. The study concludes that risk transfer helps project managers to protect projects from catastrophic losses, stabilize project cash flow, and focus on organizational core competencies. Risk prevention depends mainly on perception, judgement and experience. The control of risk is critical to project success and it is the task of risk management to manage a project’s exposure to risk. Risk retention is an iterative process that uses progress status reports and deliverable status to monitor and control risks. The study recommends that to ensure successful risk transfer, the project managers need to conduct a thorough risk assessment and analysis. The organization should increase level of project risk prevention as it enhances the risk management activities on each significant risk. Project managers should establish the probability of risk occurrence in the project. The response to a given risk should reflect the risk type, the risk assessment in terms of likelihood, impact, criticality and so on and the organization’s attitude to risk.
Description
A Research Project Submitted to the School of Business, Economics and Tourism in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Business Administration (Project Management) of Kenyatta University, November 2024.
Supervisor
Perris Chege