Sustainable Development and Risk Management in Road Construction
Industry in Nigeria
Abstract
Civil Engineering projects which include road construction pose a
significant amount of risk due to the several activities involved, its
coverage over a wide expanse of land and threat from underground
conditions. Risk is defined as the chance of something happening that
will have an impact on objectives, and this can be either positive or
negative. Risk in road construction stem from the conception till usage
and has significant effect on any one of the aspects of a project namely
cost, quality, time or scope of the project. In addition, sources of
risk can be in terms of payment, security deposit and retention, time of
commencement and completion, variation, delay and cost of delay and
liquidated damages. Size can be one of the major causes of risk; so can
changes in political or commercial planning. Early understanding of the
risks involved in a project will help project managers to reduce its
impacts and complete the project in a sustainable and more efficient
manner. This can be achieved through proper Risk Management. Risk
Management entails identification, analysis and application of methods
to reduce the identified risk. This study focuses on sustainable risk
management for road construction projects, taking South east
geopolitical zone of Nigeria as case study. The method involved primary
data collection using questionnaire survey and data analysis using
statistical models. This study establishes that program evaluation
review technique is the most effective risk management practice in
Nigeria and conforms to sustainable development practices in addition to
analytical hierarchy and probability impact methods. The study would
help project managers understand anticipated risks in road projects,
better estimate risks prior to the commencement of any project and
allows them to develop proper mitigation measures at an early stage of a
project.