Investigation of critical factors influencing construction of airports: The case of India

Airport construction projects are distinctively unique and complex compared to other infrastructure and construction projects. Globally, construction of airports is often associated with large-scale cost and time overruns. However, studies that explicitly delineate the examination of critical factors affecting the airport construction are scant and highly unexplored. This study aims to bridge the knowledge gap by identifying the main factors affecting airport construction in India from clients' and contractors' perspectives using factor analysis. Based on a literature survey and expert interviews, questionnaires listing 21 attributes for clients, and 19 attributes for contractors were sent. Critical factors obtained from the analyses are as follows: a) Client-side–Pre-construction phase issues, Multi-organizational involvement issues and External issues; b) Contractor-side–Project implementation issues, Client related issues and Technical issues. The findings are intended to significantly help varied stakeholders to enhance the quality and success rate of future airport construction projects in developing countries.