Economical Sustainability In Construction Of High Rise Buildings In Pakistan

1. Statement:

The late twentieth century experienced an unprecedented demographic shift. The world population more than doubled in the last 40 years. An immediate solution an addressing population growth problem in cities is supporting high-density buildings. Pakistan such other countries turned to high-rise buildings for saving expensive earth. Tall buildings playing as important index in compared with other component of structure spatial -physical of cities in shaping and improving the visual quality of spaces.

In the developing economy of Pakistan, the construction industry of high rise building is encountered by different economic and technical problems which affect the industry in many ways. Also, the construction procedures in Pakistan consume excessive time and resources which have a direct effect on the country’s economy and socio-economic development. Macroeconomic problems in unemployment and inflation add to the existing economic situation in the construction of high rise buildings in Pakistan.

Currently almost all of the significant high rise building in Pakistan are suffering due to the lack of economic sustainability such as HALY tower in Lahore, Centaurus Mall in Islamabad and Bahria Icon Tower, Hoshang Pearl Tower, Dolmen City Mall in Karachi are the audacious examples of construction delay in high rise. The main purpose of this study is to identify the adverse factors affecting delays, cost overruns and lack of economic sustainability in the high-rise building construction projects of Pakistan.

 

This research with comprehensive relevant literature review will focus in depth on effected high rise buildings as case study considering of socio-economic barriers and cost over runs management issues. The research would be beneficial for all building related professionals dealing with high rise building projects. The research will also establish recommendation for achieving economical sustainability in construction of high rise buildings in Pakistan.

 

 

2. Objectives:

   The aim of the research is to be achieved the following research objectives as set out below:

• To identify some hurdles and development barriers that are predominant in the construction industry of high rise buildings in Pakistan.
• To identify the fundamental and most common problems those affect the economy and efficiency of construction process of high rise buildings.
• To explain why there are severe problems, paves the way for speculating about how they might be overcome.
• To identify and rank a set of selected policies necessary for sustaining and stimulating the economy of high rise construction industry.
• To discuss and conclude how to best bring about improvements in the Pakistani high rise construction industry regarding economic sustainability.

 

3. Literature Survey:

 

 

• Aftab.H.Memon , Ismail.A.Rahman and Ade Asmi Aziz (2012) investigated  “Time and cost performance in construction projects in southern and central regions of peninsular Malaysia”. The construction industry in Malaysia has been regarded as industry facing poor performance leading to failure in achieving effective time and cost performance. The major contributors of this poor performance include design and documentation issues, financial resource management, project management and contract administration issues. Further, qualitative study was carried out using semi-structured interviews with the experience personnel involving in managing construction project which resulted in developing 13 mitigation measure to improve time performance and 15 mitigation measure to improve cost performance in construction project. This study will help the practitioners to implement the mitigation measure at planning stage in order to achieve successful construction projects.

 

 

• A.S. Ali and S.N. Kamaruzzaman, (2010), investigated “Cost performance for building construction projects in Klang valley”. There are four fundamental constraints needed to be considered when managing the construction projects, which are scope, cost, time, and quality. In order to manage the projects successfully, it is necessary to consider whether the project is within those fours constraints. However, it found that there were many problems on cost performance in many countries. One of the major problems was cost overrun in construction projects. The research is to identify factors that contribute to cost overrun and potential measures to overcome the problem with the focus given to construction projects within Klang Valley. The method used in this research is quantitative based. A questionnaire survey conducted to collect data. The result shown that the most serious factor contributes to cost overrun was inaccurate or poor estimation of original cost and the factor do not affect most was mistake in design. The most important method to control construction cost is proper project costing and financing. On the other hand, the least important approach was establishing a system in design. In conclusion, the problem of cost overrun is not a small issue but could cause serious problems to the construction industry in Malaysia.

 

• Gonzalo Fernández-Sánchez, Fernando Rodríguez-López (2010) Investigated “A methodology to identify sustainability indicators in construction project management—Application to infrastructure projects in Spain”. The sustainable development concept and its application to urban planning and construction projects, countless sustainability indicator sets have appeared. This paper analyses the problems posed by these sets and the need to establish a method to identify and select an indicator set which includes every participant involved in the life cycle of a project, to ?nd a proper balance between all actors. Sustainability is proposed as an opportunity for improvement throughout the project.

 

• Jesper Kranker Larsen, Geoffrey Qiping Shen, Søren Munch Lindhard and Thomas Ditlev Brunoe [2016] investigated on “Factors Affecting Schedule Delay, Cost Overrun, and Quality Level in Public Construction Projects”. The study was to analyze the factors that project managers experience as having the greatest effect on time, cost, and quality, and to discover whether the effects of these factors are significantly different from each other. A questionnaire with 26 factors identified from interviews was sent to the full population of publicly employed project managers. Factors were ranked using the relative importance index and tested for significant differences using Friedman’s test. Wilcoxon’s test was used in a post-hoc analysis. From the findings it was determined that the most influential factor for time is unsettled or lack of project funding; for cost, errors or omissions in consultant material; and for quality, errors or omissions in construction work. The main conclusion of this research is that project schedule, budget, and quality level are affected in significantly different ways. Therefore, a project manager cannot handle such critical issues by focusing only on schedule or budget complications; nor can he or she assume that time, cost, and quality are equally affected.

 

• Kim, Dae Young, Chi, Seokho [2015] investigated “Causes of Schedule Delays in Building Construction Projects in Vanuatu”. With its recent tourism boom, Vanuatu, a small country in the South Pacific, is experiencing an increasing demand for construction. However, it has been struggling with persistent schedule delays in their construction projects due to a variety of reasons. In an attempt to respond to this situation, this paper aims to identify the major causes of schedule delays in building construction in Pacific island countries, with a focus on Vanuatu. To collect data on the factors affecting schedule delays, face-to-face interviews were conducted. Based on these, seven major causes of schedule delays, as selected by the majority of the participants, were identified and discussed to provide perceptive insights for future improvement opportunities. This paper attempts to help contractors with limited resources better understand the major causes of schedule delay in Vanuatu and achieve better performance in building projects.

 

• Mohamed Abdel-Raheem a, Charles Ramsbottom b (2016) investigated “Factors affecting social sustainability in highway projects in Missouri”. Sustainability focuses on the interaction between a given project and the social, environmental, and the economic dimensions of the system enclosing it. The majority of the studies conducted focused mostly on the environmental aspects of sustainability rather than the economic ones, while very few studies discussed the social dimension. Social sustainability promotes the concepts of respect, awareness, diversity, vitality, and responsibility toward the workforce and the society by keeping them healthy and safe from harm during the different phases of a project. Highway projects are one of the most critical infrastructure projects in the construction industry. This is due to their high budgets, frequent occurrences, and the inevitable disturbance they cause to the existing communities and environment. As such, a comprehensive study was conducted to analyze the performance of highway projects with respect to the social dimension of sustainability.

 

• Mohamed Kadry, Hesham Osman and Maged Georgy [2016] investigated on “Causes of Construction Delays in Countries with High Geopolitical Risks” International construction contractors are increasingly expanding their business into emerging markets that are often characterized by high geopolitical risk. Working in these regions poses unique challenges that lead to unconventional causes for construction delay. As such, this research aims to (1) develop a better understanding of the causes of delays that may be encountered in countries with high geopolitical risks, (2) gauge the relative impact these delay causes are expected to have on project completion, and (3) capture how delay causes are influenced by project and country characteristics. Research findings are based on two distinct data sources: quantitative and qualitative data. First, a window delay analysis is conducted of six project schedules and narratives with extensive quantitative data informed of the probability and impact of various delay causes in countries with high geopolitical risks. This quantitative source was then complemented with qualitative data based on interviewing 18 experts who were involved in 36 projects, which spanned 16 countries with high geopolitical risks. Results of the quantitative and qualitative data analysis were merged to create an integrated delay cause database. This merging helps to leverage the advantages of both approaches, i.e., accuracy of data and breadth of coverage, and enables construction companies to better anticipate the future causes of delay on their international construction projects.

 

• Mohamed M. Marzouk, Tarek I. El-Rasas [2013] investigated on “Analyzing delay causes in Egyptian construction Projects”. Construction delays are common problems in civil engineering projects in Egypt. These problems occur frequently during project life-time leading to disputes and litigation. Therefore, it is essential to study and analyze causes of construction delays. This research presents a list of construction delay causes retrieved from literature. The feedback of construction experts was obtained through interviews. Subsequently, a questionnaire survey was prepared. The questionnaire survey was distributed to thirty-three construction experts who represent owners, consultants, and contractor’s organizations. Frequency Index, Severity Index, and Importance Index are calculated and according to the highest values of them the top ten delay causes of construction projects in Egypt are determined. A case study is analyzed and compared to the most important delay causes in the research. Statistical analysis is carried out using analysis of variance ANOVA method to test delay causes, obtained from the survey. The test results reveal good correlation between groups while there is signi?cant difference between them for some delay causes and ?nally roadmap for prioritizing delay causes groups is presented.

 

 

• Mustafa Ylmaz, Adem Bak (2015) investigated “Sustainability in Construction Sector”. Adaptation of environment and energy policies supporting economic development not threatening natural life, in international community makes states, establishments, institutions and business world and non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders force to act at this way. Eco-friendly and smart buildings are the result of sustainable environment policies in construction sector which is widely responsible for consumption of natural resources and for environment pollution. Sustainable constructions called smart buildings or green buildings are hi-tech buildings with their control and automation systems. For this kind of building design, stakeholders such as architects, engineers, landscape architects, product manufacturers, energy consultants, project managers, building users, and local administrators are working together. The identification of potential threats and opportunities by following these technologies, the selection of appropriate technological capabilities for the company and industry, the acquisition of these technologies from internal or external companies and usage of them are required for strategic management of technology.

 

• Nguyen Duy Long, Stephen Ogunlana, Truong Quang, Ka Chi Lam (2004) investigated on “Large construction projects in developing countries: a case study from Vietnam”. Although various studies have been undertaken into the factors a?ecting delays, cost overruns, quality, safety, and productivity, etc and other problems in speci?c types of projects, these studies seldom discuss common and general problems of construction projects. Thus, comprehensive studies on these problems are essential. Since the problems are rather contextual, the studies need to focus on a speci?c geographical area, country or region. This paper presents problems of large construction projects in Vietnam. Data analysis revealed that the problems could be grouped under ?ve major factors: (1) incompetent designers/contractors, (2) poor estimation and change management, (3) social and technological issues, (4) site related issues, and (5) improper techniques and tools.

 

• Nida Azhar, Rizwan.U.Farooqui and Syed.M.Ahmed (2008) investigated “Cost Overrun Factors In Construction Industry of Pakistan” Cost overrun is a very frequent phenomenon and is almost associated with nearly all projects in the construction industry. This trend is more severe in developing countries where these overruns sometimes exceed 100% of the anticipated cost of the project. This paper attempts to identify the major cost overrun factors in the construction sector of Pakistan, which can serve as the way forward for future work in coping with these overruns in total forty-two (42) factors were short-listed to be made part of the survey questionnaire and the survey was conducted with representatives from local general contracting firms. Results indicated that the majority of cost overrun factors (88%) lie in medium severity impact zone (with a rating between 5 to 7.5 out of 10), signifying that major attention needs to be given to these factors as they collectively because considerable cost overrun. It is evident from the findings that both internal and external aspects of business setting are present as the prime contributors to cost overruns. The top ten cost overrun factors found were: fluctuation in prices of raw materials, unstable cost of manufactured materials, high cost of machineries, lowest bidding procurement procedures, poor project (site) 500 management/ poor cost control, delays between design and procurement phases, incorrect/ inappropriate methods of cost estimation, additional work, improper planning, and unsupportive government policies.

 

 

• Sadi A. Assaf, Sadiq Al-Hejji (2006) investigated “Causes of delay in large construction projects” A survey on time performance of di?erent types of construction projects in Saudi Arabia was conducted to determine the causes of delay and their importance according to each of the project participants, i.e., the owner, consultant and the contractor. The ?eld survey conducted included 23 contractors, 19 consultants, and 15 owners. Seventy-three causes of delay were identi?ed during the research. 76% of the contractors and 56% of the consultants indicated that average of time overrun is between 10% and 30% of the original duration. The most common cause of delay identi?ed by all the three parties is ‘‘change order’’. Surveys concluded that 70% of projects experienced time overrun and found that 45 out of 76 projects considered were delayed.

 

• Zayyana Shehu and Intan R. Endut [2014] investigated on “Factors contributing to project time and hence cost overrun in the Malaysian construction industry”. The delivery of construction projects in Malaysia is plagued by time overruns, which turns what should have been successful projects into those incurring additional costs, or money-losing ventures; as well as leading to various other unexpected negative effects and faute de mieux situations. The purpose of this research is to assess those factors leading to time overrun in Malaysian construction projects. The perceptions of public and private sectors, contractors, clients, and consultants are compared relative to a list of factors derived from the review of extant literature in project delay. Project delays beyond contract dates are predominantly caused by contractors and are usually associated with ?nancial factors. “Cash ?ow problems faced by the contractors” was found the major factor, which contributed to project delays, whereas “storage on site” was seen as the least signi?cant factor.

 

 

4. Research Methodology:

The research methodology for this research has been divided into the following two parts; -

• Literature review have been carried down in relevant area of research for this purpose number of resources used like journals, newspapers, magazines, text books and the internet, which provide the opportunity build the concept and understanding in the area of research.

 

• Quantitative research method is used to collect primary data by conducting a survey on the local construction industry of Pakistan, which identifies the issues and problems in the construction industry and to answer the research questions. This methodology constitutes the quantitative analysis of the economic sustainability of the high rise construction industry of Pakistan.

 

 

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1 - Schematic diagram of the research desgin

Source: Authours own illustration

 

 

 

5. Utilization of Research:

The aim of this research is to examine the economic sustainability in construction industry of high rise in Pakistan and provide suggestions for improvement based on the findings of the research.

 

 

6. Research Time Table:

Activity	1-2 Week	3-4 Week	5-6 Week	7-8 Week	9-10 Week	11-12 Week	13-14 Week	15-16 Week
Literature Review
Selection of local firm / projects to conduct the survey
Preparation of questionnaires, interviews
Analyzing by DELPHI methodology.
Comparison of Analysis Outcome
Results and Conclusions

 

 

7. References:

• Aftab.H.Memon , Ismail.A.Rahman and Ade Asmi Aziz (2012) “Time and cost performance in construction projects in southern and central regions of peninsular Malaysia”.

 

• A.S. Ali and S.N. Kamaruzzaman, (2010), “Cost performance for building construction projects in Klang valley”. J. Build. Perform.

 

 

• Gonzalo Fernández-Sánchez, Fernando Rodríguez-López (2010) “A methodology to identify sustainability indicators in construction project management—Application to infrastructure projects in Spain”.
• Jesper Kranker Larsen, Geoffrey Qiping Shen, Søren Munch Lindhard and Thomas Ditlev Brunoe [2016] “Factors Affecting Schedule Delay, Cost Overrun, and Quality Level in Public Construction Projects”.

 

• Kim, Dae Young, Chi, Seokho [2015] “Causes of Schedule Delays in Building Construction Projects in Vanuatu”.

 

 

• Mohamed Abdel-Raheem a, Charles Ramsbottom b (2016) “Factors affecting social sustainability in highway projects in Missouri”.

 

• Mohamed Kadry, Hesham Osman and Maged Georgy [2016] “Causes of Construction Delays in Countries with High Geopolitical Risks”

 

 

• Mohamed M. Marzouk, Tarek I. El-Rasas [2013] “Analyzing delay causes in Egyptian construction Projects”.

 

• Mustafa Ylmaz, Adem Bak (2015) “Sustainability in Construction Sector”.

 

 

• Nguyen Duy Long, Stephen Ogunlana, Truong Quang, Ka Chi Lam (2004) “Large construction projects in developing countries: a case study from Vietnam”.

 

• Nida Azhar, Rizwan.U.Farooqui and Syed.M.Ahmed (2008) “Cost Overrun Factors In Construction Industry of Pakistan”

 

 

• Sadi A. Assaf, Sadiq Al-Hejji (2006) “Causes of delay in large construction projects”.

 

• Zayyana Shehu and Intan R. Endut [2014] “Factors contributing to project time and hence cost overrun in the Malaysian construction industry”.