The effects of government construction projects abandonment: Stakeholders' perspective

The construction industry of every country drives economic growth as it serves as the foundation for other sectors' growth and as such, the need to manage projects in this sector cannot be overemphasized. However, in developing countries, some of these projects fail through abandonment but researchers have not paid attention to the effects that these abandoned construction projects have on stakeholders associated with such projects. This study, therefore, investigates the effects of abandonment on key stakeholders associated with such projects. Using sequential data collection approach through focused group discussions, questionnaire and an in-depth semi-structured interview, 26 effects of construction projects abandonment on stakeholders are identified. The top 10 most important effects are: unemployment, bad image for the government, government sector underdevelopment, slow economic growth, financial institutions lose confidence in the state, discourages investment, loss of revenue by state, pollution, loss of properties and loss of revenue by the citizens. The effects were grouped into four main themes and the most important effects are the economic, social, political and psychological respectively. The findings also suggest that some of these effects are direct whilst others are indirect; and they are cyclical in nature.