Construction Industry in Sultanate of Oman - Case Study Example

We have numerous reasons that underlie delays in construction projects, some of which are related to various types of uncertainty associated with activities during the process of construction. Various participants are often affected in cases of project delays, these include; clients, consultants, contractors as well as suppliers. There is raising concern from small and large size contractors concerning difficulties involved in the process of overcoming delays. The major issue surrounds timely prescription on causes of delay during the construction process.

The solution to delays requires that Project Managers identify the most important variables, rank them, and seek the best alternative solutions.These represent delays that are incomprehensible through either the owner or the contractor. They occur under mysterious circumstances caused by unexpected incidents or third parties (Yates and Epstein, 2006). In such circumstances, contractors are expected to bear the full cost in case of time extension hence included as the contractor’s “normal and legitimate monetary” risk.

Some of such delays are because of natural calamities or catastrophic events such as wars or other manmade occurrences. Good examples in this category include; acts of God, weather conditions, fire outbreaks, legislative acts of government amongst other causes (Yates and Epstein, 2006).These delays are considered to occur owing to negligence by the contractor or suppliers. In such cases, contractors are not entitled to relief hence are expected to cater for the lost time. Either compensating the owner or accelerating the process can do this.

In cases where liquidated damages are non-existent in the contract, then the form of compensation involved is either through liquidated or actual damages.Such delays occur due to negligence by the project owner or owner’s clients. This delay can be attributable to the late release of the construction plan from the owner’s architect.