Abstract:
Road construction projects in Rwanda, particularly in Kigali City, consistently experience delays that negatively impact on economic development, public satisfaction, and urban mobility. This study developed a project management framework to reduce delays in road construction projects in Rwanda. The research objectives were to identify root causes of delays, assess their impacts, evaluate severity of the impacts from different stakeholders' perspectives, examine government influence on the delays, and formulate a management framework for mitigating the delays. A cross-sectional research design was employed, targeting registered engineers in the road construction sector of Rwanda. Data were collected from 43 professionals using structured questionnaires, representing a 71.67% response rate. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative responses underwent thematic analysis. The study revealed that financial constraints constitute the primary delay factor, with contractor financing difficulties and government payment delays were the most critical. Land expropriation processes and utility relocations also significantly impact project timelines. Time overruns (95.3% of projects) and cost overruns (90.7% of projects) represent the most severe impacts, with additional consequences including traffic congestion, health issues from dust pollution, and economic disruption to local businesses. Government-related factors demonstrated the highest severity, primarily due to bureaucratic bottlenecks in payment processing and land acquisition procedures. The analysis revealed that 72.1% of projects experience payment delays, while 69.8% encounter expropriation-related setbacks. Based on these findings, a five-phase Phase-Gate Project Management (PG-PM) Framework was formulated, incorporating systematic checkpoints to address identified delay factors. The framework emphasizes early financial assessment, comprehensive feasibility studies, and rigorous design validation, with specific attention to land acquisition and utility coordination. The study recommends implementing the PG-PM Framework, establishing dedicated financing mechanisms including Public-Private Partnerships, streamlining expropriation procedures, and enhancing inter-agency coordination. These interventions could potentially reduce project delays by addressing the root causes that affect over 70% of road construction projects in Rwanda.
