Rural access programs in Yemen: Delay of international funded road projects

Purpose: Road projects are essential for poverty reduction and the socio-economic development of Yemeni people living in rural areas. Rural access programs, which are mainly sponsored by foreign countries and international organisations, are often delayed. The purpose of this paper is to identify the delay factors of rural road projects with a focus on stakeholder-related factors. Design/methodology/approach: The data was collected using a questionnaire survey from 164 participants representing 7 groups, namely, owner, government, donors, consultants, designers, contractors and beneficiaries. The data was analysed using the partial least squares path modelling (PLS-SEM). Findings: The results show that the identified factors contribute to 16% of the variance of project delay. Donor and government-related factors have a significant relationship with delay. Further analysis of data using the IPMA procedure in PLS-SEM revealed the top factors contributing to delay, which are project selection criteria imposed by donors, government bureaucracy, decision-making process, weak laws and guidelines that regulate the work of project implementation units, procurement procedures, delay of payment to contractor and delay of transactions. Originality/value: The timely completion of rural road projects can have a positive impact on the current and future rural access programs aiming to reduce poverty and increase access to health and education services of over 70% of Yemeni people living in rural areas. Such programs will reduce the misfortune of displaced people due to the ongoing war in the country.