Investigation of Project Delays in Construction Projects in the South African Rail Industry

“The construction industry is one of the largest contributing sectors towards the Gross Domestic Product of many countries globally, and South Africa is no exception. The construction industry in South Africa and globally, is marred with extensive delays. This is a persisting enduring challenge.This study investigated the project delay factors in construction projects, particularly in the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa and Transnet’s traction substation projects in the South African railway engineering environment. The research also presented the remedial actions and mitigations suitable to be implemented to manage project delays in the project engineering environment. The research was conducted through a literature review and a questionnaire survey. The deductive research approach was employed. An online questionnaire survey was used to collect primary data. The literature review summary revealed eight top project delay-causing factors in traction substation projects, forming the basis of the questionnaire. The questionnaire results correlated with the literature review. This dissertation proposed suitable measures to manage delays in construction projects, improving the quality of work, and reduction of cost and schedule overruns.”