Private developers and the government of Kenya are investing huge amounts of money
towards development projects that constitute many large infrastructure projects. Construction
projects are very complex and require hefty amounts of knowledge, resources and
coordination so as to meet specialized design and specification needs. Because of the above
mentioned difficulties in the actualization of the projects, disputes are common in the industry
which bring about great negative impacts to the parties and stakeholders involved along with
the economy as a whole. The objective of the project is to identify the major causes of
construction disputes and additionally shed light on the impacts and various resolution
methods preferred by stakeholders.
The project was done using survey research, consisting of desk studies, interviews and
questionnaires which provided an insight on the major causes of construction disputes as seen
by key players in the industry. The research further expounds to ask the respondents on their
views about the impacts of the disputes. Finally, the resolution methods which the
respondents’ thought were most favorable/preferable were also ranked. After the respondents
gave their responses each cause, impact and resolution method were ranked using the RII
method which is an adaption of the mean method derived to summarize the importance of
each indicator.
The target population to sample were architects/project managers, Developers, Contractors,
Quantity surveyors, Legal experts, utility companies and other consultants. The general
ranking concluded payment delays and financial failure of the client as the most probable
cause of dispute. The same ranking concluded project delays as the most severe impact of
disputes and negotiation as the most preferred method of dispute resolution. A similar analysis
was also conducted that ranked the causes, impacts and resolution methods of disputes
according to the type of firm making it possible to analyze the view of each firm.
Following the critical analysis of the data collected, some suggested recommendations in the
project include, firstly, an adoption of a single contract document that should be signed by
participating bodies. Moreover, clients should ensure that they only start projects when they
are confident about their finances and additionally, consultants should ensure quality of work
is of required standards by conducting regular inspections or advising clients on employing a
full time clerk of works for the purpose of quality assurance. Furthermore, awareness should
be created on the different dispute resolution methods. It is expected that this project will help
stakeholders in the industry to understand the causes and the negative impacts that the
disputes bring along, as well as their solutions so that they can mutually try to avoid them
together.