Time and cost overruns in the UAE construction industry: a critical analysis

Time and cost are the two main indicators of success in a construction project as it affects all the project participants with equal positive and negative effects. Yet, poor time and cost performance have been a critical issue prevailing in the global construction market and UAE have not been an exception. This research adopted a concurrent mixed-methods approach, utilizing a questionnaire and an interview with UAE construction professionals, to analyse the major causes of this poor time and cost performance. The top five causes for time overrun were concluded as design variation from client and consultant, unrealistic schedules and completion dates projected by clients, delay in obtaining government permits and approvals, inaccurate time estimation by the consultants and change orders from clients. Whereas, the top five causes of cost overrun were summarized as design variation, poor cost estimation, delay in client’s decision-making process, financial constraints of client and inappropriate procurement method.