| Summary: | Construction delays are a global phenomenon. Factors causing construction delays in construction projects differ from country to country, due to different prevailing conditions. The prevailing conditions that could exert an influence on project delivery time are: political, economic, and physical factors as well as level of technological development; management style, and construction techniques. The construction industry is a major player in the economy, generating both employment and wealth. However, many projects experience extensive delays and thereby exceed initial time and cost estimates. This study aims at determining the causes of delays in project delivery in South Africa; evolving interventions, and developing a model for the delivery of projects on time. Inferential and linear regression statistical tools were used in the analysis of data for the study. The sample population consists of architects, builders, quantity surveyors, structural engineers, and clients, and the metropolitan cities of five provinces constituted the geographical delimitation of the study. The provinces are: Eastern Cape; Free State; Gauteng; KwaZulu-Natal, and Western Cape. The metropolitan cities are: Bloemfontein; Cape Town; Durban; Johannesburg, and Port Elizabeth. Findings which negatively influence project delivery time in South Africa include the following: lack of adequate planning; management style; the lack of constructability reviews of designs; inadequate motivation of workers; economic policies; lack of prompt payment to contractors, and quality of management during design and construction. Recommendations include: (1) The introduction of the following courses in built environment tertiary education � quality management competences; operational planning; design management, and generic management; (2) pre-qualification of suppliers; (3) inclusion of the following in tender documentation � human resource schedule; plant and equipment schedule; quality assurance plan, and work schedule; (4) appointment of materials specialists on a large projects; (5) the model developed should be adopted for use in the South African construction industry for the delivery of projects on time, and (6) the linear regression equation: Y = 13.1159 + 1.1341x or 35.3 percent addition on time for the estimation of project delivery time.
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