A CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE CAUSES OF COST OVERRUN IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

A CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE CAUSES OF COST OVERRUN IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Most developing countries have been experiencing economic growth over the last decades. For instance, Ghana, a developing country in Sub Saharan Africa has been experiencing a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of about 7%, on the average, between 2010 and 2017 (Ghana Statistical Service, 2018). The construction industry remains a very important industry for developing countries as the industry is responsible for providing critical infrastructure for major economic and social developments in these countries. As a result, the contribution of the construction industry to the GDP of most developing countries is relatively significant. For example, in Ghana, the contribution of the construction industry to the overall GDP between 2010 and 2017 has been about 12% on the average (Ghana Statistical Service, 2018). Therefore, since most developing countries spend relatively significant portions of their GDPs on construction projects in the construction industry, it is important that the performance of projects in the industry is paid attention to in order to ensure efficient use of the tax payer’s money. Especially, in developing countries where there are fiscal challenges, this call becomes even more urgent.