Determinants of project implementation delay: the case of selected projects financed by development bank of Ethiopia

Abstract

The objective of this study is to identify the major determinants of project implementation delay. The research targeted projects financed by the Development Bank of Ethiopia. The independent variables causing project implementation delay are poor project initiation, poor project planning/design system, improper implementation, poor project monitoring, evaluation and controlling system, poor communication, improper project closure, and the dependent variable is project delay. The study considered 125 projects through stratified sampling method from projects financed by the Bank. Data were collected from randomly selected project managers using structured questionnaire and secondary data were also used. Data were analyzed using linear regression method. According to the findings, a strong, positive and significant relationship was observed between delay factors considered as independent variables and project delay. Among the six delay factors (poor project initiation, poor project planning/design system, improper implementation, poor project monitoring, evaluation and controlling system, poor communication and improper project closure), poor project initiation was identified and concluded as the determinants with the highest influence on project completion delay. So that any business initiators should select project those are more familiar and interesting for them and scope of project should be established, controlled and must be clearly defined and be limited.