Cost and Time Performance of Construction Projects under The Due Process Reform In Nigeria

The Due process policy is a product of the Fderal government public procurement reform of 1999. The policy was meant to be an anticorruption device aimed at ensuring probity, transparency, accountability in the procurement of public goods and services. The need for the reform is long overdue. However, in order to assess the implementation of the Due process policy in procurement of construction projects, the study took a survey study of construction projects awarded and executed in federal higher educational institutions in the southwest Nigeria. The study revealed that although cost overrun on such projects was at 19% due to the lump sum nature of the due process reform, time overrun was at the rate of 108%. Financial capability of the client followed by prompt payment were identified respectively for timely completion while delayed payment has the highest contribution to time overrun at 36%. Financial incapability of the contractor has significant contribution to delay in completion of the projects. The study observed that the contracts were awarded on short contract duration, it concluded that the excessive time overrun on such projects is not good for the construction industry in Nigeria as it does not only erode the contractor’s profit, it also deprives the client from having his project as at when due. It therefore suggested that there is need to ensure that realistic contract periods are quoted and that the federal government should endeavor to assess the success of the reform so far in order to address the grey areas.