The Effect of Contractor-Subcontractor Relationship on Construction Duration in Nigeria

摘要

Construction projects have become complex, hence, most projects are sub – contracted to allow for specialisation. The problem however has been the adversarial relationship between the main and sub- contractors leading to delays and at times abandonment. The main objective was to determine the causes of this strain relationship in the Nigerian context and the extent of this on project duration. A questionnaire survey was sent to fifty (50) main- contractors selected using purposive sampling and fifty (50) sub – contractors selected randomly; who had worked on the same project in Lagos State, Nigeria; eliciting information on the interface problems between them and data on project duration. The result of the survey revealed that, main – contractors viewed delay of work and neglecting main contractor’s instruction as the major causes of interface problems caused by sub – contractors. While sub – contractors viewed assigning part of the works to another sub – contractor without informing the original contractor and main contractor’s financial problems as the major causes of the interface problems. The average time overrun was calculated to be 29.92%. It was concluded that strain relationship between contractors and sub – contractors could cause time overrun but can be reduced if there is a mutual trust / understanding between them.