Influence of Project Planning on Implementation of Urban Road Projects in Kenya: a Case of Kenya Urban Roads Authority, Nairobi County

Abstract

Over the years rapid urbanization has taken place and with this there has been a need to create sustainable cities with urban infrastructure and social public amenities that support the population surge in the urban areas. Kenya has been no different. Kenya Urban Roads Authority is the government entity mandated to identify the need for urban roads, plan, implement and manage urban roads in Kenya. This study focused on investigating the influence of project planning on implementation of urban road projects: a case of Kenya Urban Roads Authority, Nairobi region. The study was directed by the subsequent objectives; to assess the influence of project resource planning, planning for project procurement procedures, planning for project stakeholder engagement and planning for project risk management on implementation of urban road projects in Kenya. The literature reviewed the theoretical framework focusing on the theory of triple constraints and the theory of project management. The study had a target population of 1,000 Kenya Urban Roads Authority employees. The drawn sample was 90 participants for the study. Piloting of the instrument was done on 9 Nairobi Metropolitan employees, a number derived from a proportion of 10% of the total sample of the study. The study employed a descriptive research design with the data collection instrument selected as a questionnaire having structured questions with the intention of satisfying the research questions and objectives. The collected data was analyzed using the SPSS software for descriptive, inferential statistics and the Pearson correlation analysis. From the analysis, it was evident that project resource planning influenced the implementation of urban road projects having a variability of 12.4%. Secondly, planning for project procurement procedures influenced implementation of urban road projects and it could be explained with a variability of 31.8%. Thirdly, from the findings, it was palpable that 19.1% of the variability in the dependent variable- implementation of urban road projects can be explained by the dependent variable- planning for project stakeholder engagement. Finally, it was evident that only 6.5% of the variability in the dependent variable- implementation of urban road projects can be explained by the dependent variable- planning for project risk management. When the hypotheses were tested, the P value for all the independent variables was less than 0.05 thus leading to rejection of the null hypothesis. The study concluded that all the independent variables influenced the implementation of urban road projects although at different extents. The research further proposed some recommendations like proper resource planning, prioritizing stakeholder engagement and formulation of better risk response frameworks before implementation of urban road projects. The areas for further research should be carried out in urban areas where rapid infrastructural developments are happening.