Influence of Risk Management Strategies On Completion, Cost And Quality of Road Infrastructure Development Projects In Nairobi City County, Kenya
Abstract/ Overview
ABSTRACT
The World Bank estimates a 10% rise in infrastructure assets through major infrastructure like
road projects. Road infrastructure development projects however have a history of problems
which are caused by; cost overruns, delays, failed procurements, or unavailability of private
financing. In Kenya, many road construction projects are not completed within the initial set time
which negatively affects the cost and quality of road construction projects. Effective risk
management strategies allow a project manager to identify the project’s strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats. It is therefore important for infrastructure development projects to
incorporate risk management into their projects. Despite this critical requirement, little is known
about the influence of risk management strategies on cost, time and quality of completed road
infrastructure development projects in Nairobi County. In scenarios where the information is
available, it is held up in silos by a few in an organization and not really comprehended by all.
The main objective of this study was therefore to assess the influence of risk management
strategies on completion of road infrastructure projects in Nairobi County. A cross-sectional
research design was adopted for this study targeting a sample of 75 road construction firms and
risk managers selected from a total of 208 registered road construction firms in Nairobi County.
Stratified sampling was used to select 57 local, and 14 foreign firms together with 4 other firms
which had both local and foreign characteristics in their structures. One risk manager was
interviewed per firm using structured questionnaires. Data were analyzed using descriptive
statistics and association between variables was analyzed through cross-tabulation using chisquare tests and linear regressions. Risk avoidance was the most adopted type of management
strategy and the main management strategy to mitigate all the risks. Avoidance of risks,
mitigation of risks and acceptance were significantly associated with timely completion of road
projects. Mitigation of risks, exploitation, sharing, and acceptance was significantly associated
with the completion of road projects within the budget. The findings will enable the Ministry of
Roads and Public works and Transport sector to work together with other stakeholders involved
in road infrastructure development projects to address these risks.