MINIMIZING THE RISK OF COST OVERRUN IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION PROJECT DURING PRE-CONTRACT STAGE

Authors

  • F.A. Mohd.Rahim Centre for Building, Construction & Tropical Architecture (BuCTA), Faculty of Built Environment, UNIVERSITI MALAYA, KUALA LUMPUR
  • Kah Gah Ling Faculty of Business and Economics, UNIVERSITI MALAYA, KUALA LUMPUR
  • Nurshuhada Zainon Faculty of Business and Economics, UNIVERSITI MALAYA, KUALA LUMPUR
  • Nurul Safwah Mohd Yusof Faculty of Business and Economics, UNIVERSITI MALAYA, KUALA LUMPUR

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21837/pm.v23i39.1899

Keywords:

cost overrun, pre-contract stage, risk, building construction project

Abstract

Cost overruns are a major challenge in Malaysian building construction projects, leading to delays, budget increases, and financial losses. This study investigates pre-contract factors that contribute to cost overruns and evaluates strategies to mitigate these risks. The objectives are to identify key factors, assess their impact, and determine effective mitigation strategies for stakeholders during the pre-contract stage. A quantitative approach was used, employing a structured questionnaire survey of construction firms in Selangor. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings indicate that inaccurate cost estimation, poor planning, contractor inexperience, and financial constraints are the most significant factors influencing cost overruns. Effective strategies include careful contractor selection, risk assessment, pre-contract cost control, detailed planning, and the adoption of Building Information Modeling (BIM). The study provides practical insights for stakeholders to manage pre-contract risks, improve cost control, and enhance project outcomes. It also contributes to the literature by quantitatively validating the impact of pre-contract factors and strategies in Malaysian construction projects.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Abusafiya, H. A., & Suliman, S. M. (2017). Causes and effects of cost overrun on construction project in Bahrain: Part I (Ranking of cost overrun factors and risk mapping). Modern Applied Science, 11(7), 20. https://doi.org/10.5539/mas.v11n7p20

Adam, A., Josephson, P. E. B., & Lindahl, G. (2017). Aggregation of factors causing cost overruns and time delays in large public construction projects: Trends and implications. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 24(3), 393–406. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-10-2015-0148

Ahady, S., Gupta, S., & Malik, R. K. (2017). A critical review of the causes of cost overrun in construction industries in developing countries. International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology, 4(3), 2550–2558.

Aljohani, A., Ahiaga-Dagbui, D., & Moore, D. (2017). Construction projects cost overrun: What does the literature tell us? International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology, 8(2), 137–143. https://doi.org/10.18178/ijimt.2017.8.2.717

Al-Keim, A. (2017). Strategies to reduce cost overruns and schedule delays in construction projects (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University).

Ameh, O. J., Soyingbe, A. A., & Odusami, K. T. (2010). Significant factors causing cost overruns in telecommunication projects in Nigeria. Journal of Construction in Developing Countries, 15(2), 49–67.

Amini, S., Rezvani, A., Tabassi, M., & Malek Sadati, S. S. (2023). Causes of cost overruns in building construction projects in Asian countries: Iran as a case study. Engineering, Construction & Architectural Management, 30(7), 2739–2766. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-05-2021-0445

Asiedu, R. O., & Adaku, E. (2020). Cost overruns of public sector construction projects: A developing country perspective. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 13(1), 66–84. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMPB-09-2018-0187

Asiedu, R. O., & Alfen, H. W. (2016). Understanding the underlying reasons behind time overruns of government building projects in Ghana. KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering, 20(6), 2103–2111.

Asiedu, R. O., & Ameyaw, C. (2020). A system dynamics approach to conceptualise causes of cost overrun of construction projects in developing countries. International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBPA-03-2020-0028

Ashworth, A. (2002). Pre-contract studies. In Development economics, tendering and estimating. Blackwell Science.

Atkinson, R. (1999). Project management: Cost, time and quality, two best guesses and a phenomenon, it’s time to accept other success criteria. International Journal of Project Management, 17(6), 337–342.

Babalola, A. J., Aderogba, A. M., & Adetunji, O. O. (2022). Inflation and cost overrun in public sector construction projects in Nigeria. ECS Transactions, 107(1), 16137. https://doi.org/10.1149/10701.16137qt

Department of Statistics Malaysia. (2022, November 8). Malaysia economic performance third quarter 2022. https://www.dosm.gov.my/v1/index.php?r=column/cthemeByCat&cat=100&bul_id=VFRKcjBLcjdtaVlaRms1bm0xbStadz09&menu_id=TE5CRUZCblh4ZTZMODZIbmk2aWRRQT09

Department of Statistics Malaysia. (2022, November 8). Quarterly construction statistics, third quarter 2022. https://www.dosm.gov.my/v1/index.php?r=column/cthemeByCat&cat=77&bul_id=UUNGWHBPanp2Zy95dDRaUzVrNFpjdz09&menu_id=OEY5SWtFSVVFVUpmUXEyaHppMVhEdz09

Durdyev, S. (2020). Review of construction journals on causes of project cost overruns. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 27(6), 1208–1228. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-10-2019-0589

Durdyev, S., Omarov, M., Ismail, S., & Lim, M. (2017). Significant contributors to cost overruns in construction projects of Cambodia. Cogent Engineering, 4(1), Article 1383638. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311916.2017.1383638

ElSahly, O., Ahmed, M., & Abdelfatah, A. (2023). Systematic review of the time–cost optimization models in construction management. Sustainability, 15(6), Article 5578. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065578

Famiyeh, S., Amoatey, C. T., Adaku, E., & Agbenohevi, C. S. (2017). Major causes of construction time and cost overruns: A case of selected educational sector projects in Ghana. Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, 15(2), 181–198. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEDT-11-2015-0075

Gaurang, G. (2020). Delay & cost overrun in construction projects: Implementation of lean techniques for minimizing the risks on time & cost (Master’s thesis, International Master of Science in Construction and Real Estate Management, Metropolia UAS and HTW Berlin). Berlin.

Gómez, A., & Sánchez, P. (2024). Impact of modular construction techniques on cost and time efficiency in large projects. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Construction, 3(2), 1–10. https://www.civilengineeringjournals.com/ijcec/archives/2024.v3.i2.A.35

Hackett, M., & Robinson, I. (2003). Pre-contract practice and contract administration for the building team. Blackwell Science.

Hatamleh, M. T., Hiyassat, M., Sweis, G. J., & Sweis, R. J. (2018). Factors affecting the accuracy of cost estimates: A case of Jordan. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management.

Hesna, Y., Sunaryati, J., & Hidayati, A. (2021). COVID-19 pandemic impact: An identification of the cause of cost overrun in construction project. E3S Web of Conferences, 331, Article 01014. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202133101014

Hinze, J., Selstead, G., & Mahoney, J. P. (1992). Cost overruns on State of Washington construction contracts. Transportation Research Record, 1351, 87–93.

Ikechukwu, A. C., Fidelis, I. E., & Kelvin, O. A. (2017). Causes and effects of cost overruns in public building construction projects delivery in Imo State, Nigeria. Journal of Business and Management, 7, 13–20.

Jackson, S. (2002, September). Project cost overruns and risk management. In Proceedings of the Association of Researchers in Construction Management 18th Annual ARCOM Conference (Vol. 1, pp. 1–10). Northumbria University.

Kamaruddeen, A. M., Sung, C. F., & Wahi, W. (2020). A study on factors causing cost overrun of construction projects in Sarawak, Malaysia. Civil Engineering and Architecture, 8(3), 191–199. https://doi.org/10.13189/cea.2020.080302

Kawmudi, N., Jayasooriya, S. D., Kathriarachchi, T. C., & Lakmal, A. H. (2021, October). The impact of cost reduction methods on cost overruns in the Sri Lankan construction industry. In Proceedings of the 14th International Research Conference (pp. 42–53). General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University.

Kuware, P. (2021). Investigation of delay and cost overrun in construction project of building. International Research Journal of Modernization in Engineering Technology and Science, 3(6), 1418–1423. https://www.irjmets.com/uploadedfiles/paper/volume3/issue_6_june_2021/12937/1628083509.pdf

Lee, S. W., Zainal, R., Rahim, M. H. I. A., & Noh, H. M. (2022). Cost overruns in housing projects. Research in Management of Technology and Business, 3(1), 664–675.

Love, P. E. D., Matthews, J., Simpson, I., Hill, A., & Olatunji, O. A. (2018). Overruns in transport infrastructure projects: A matter of risk, not cost. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 144(1), Article 04017099. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001264

Mahmud, A. T., Ogunlana, S. O., & Hong, W. T. (2021). Understanding the dynamics of cost overrun triggers in highway infrastructure projects in Nigeria: A systems thinking modelling approach. Journal of Financial Management of Property and Construction.

Mamat, M., & Zainal Abidin, A. (2018). Factors affecting construction cost overrun in Malaysia: Evidence from architects’ perspective. Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, 16(2), 313–326. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEDT-06-2017-0059

Morledge, R., Smith, A. J., & Appiah, S. Y. (2021). Building procurement. John Wiley & Sons.

Niazi, G. A., & Painting, N. (2017). Significant factors causing cost overruns in the construction industry in Afghanistan. In Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Engineering, Project, and Production Management (pp. 510–517). Elsevier.

Nikkei. (2023, January 16). China, Indonesia agree on $1.2bn budget overrun for high-speed rail project. Nikkei Asia. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Transportation/China-Indonesia-agree-on-1.2bn-budget-overrun-for-high-speed-rail-project

Odeck, J. (2018). Cost overruns in road construction—What are their sizes and determinants? Transport Policy, 79, 120–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2019.05.004

Rahim, F. A. (2020, July 20). Selangor MB: Affordable housing projects must be completed despite challenges. Malay Mail. https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/07/20/selangor-mb-affordable-housing-projects-must-be-completed-despite-challenge/1886355

Rahim, R., Ibrahim, J., & Nelson, M. (2022, August 4). RM100mil overrun on cost. The Star. https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2022/08/04/rm100mil-overrun-on-cost

Sánchez, O., Castañeda, K., Herrera, R. F., & Pellicer, E. (2022). Benefits of building information modeling in road projects for cost overrun factors mitigation. In Construction Research Congress 2022 (pp. 472–482). American Society of Civil Engineers. https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784484228.047

Sepasgozar, S. M. E., Razkenari, M., Shirowzhan, S., & Karimi, R. (2022). Cost overruns in construction projects: A global systematic review. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 148(12), Article 04022143. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0002407

Sharif, A., & Morledge, R. (1996, January). Procurement strategies and national organisations: The dependency linkage. In CIB W92 Symposium North Meets South: Developing Ideas.

Tennakoon, H., Dawood, N., & Al Jassmi, H. (2022). Pre-contract risk drivers in UAE construction industry. Journal of Risk Research, 25(5), 584–602. https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2021.1883812

Ullah, K., Nagapan, S., Sohu, S., & Khan, M. S. (2018). Measures to mitigate causative factors of budget overrun in Malaysian building projects. International Journal of Integrated Engineering, 10(9), 112–121. https://doi.org/10.30880/ijie.2018.10.09.016

World Bank Group & Economic Planning Unit of Malaysia. (2021). Malaysia economic monitor: Building back better. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/35272

Downloads

Published

2025-12-28

How to Cite

Mohd.Rahim, F., Ling, K. G., Zainon, N., & Mohd Yusof, N. S. (2025). MINIMIZING THE RISK OF COST OVERRUN IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION PROJECT DURING PRE-CONTRACT STAGE. PLANNING MALAYSIA, 23(39). https://doi.org/10.21837/pm.v23i39.1899