Determinants of urban roads projects completion in Kenya a case of inland container depot access road a in Nairobi county

Abstract

While urban transport has had a tremendous liberating impact, it has also posed a very serious problem to the urban impact in which it operates. This has brought about the growing demands for construction of urban roads which is on its high and with it comes overstretched and widened fiscal constraints, leading Governments to seek finances only for the projects to delay or haul due to various reasons. The proposed study, therefore, was to investigate determinants of urban roads projects completion in Kenya: A case of Inland Container Depot Access Road A in Nairobi County. The study had the following objectives: to determine how Project Design, Project Financing, Contract Administration and Stakeholders Involvement influence urban roads projects completion. The study was grounded on two theories namely: The Theory of Constraints and Stakeholders Theory. The study adopted descriptive survey research design and relied mostly on primary data sources. Target population comprised of staff working at Kenya Railways, Road A Consultant and Contractor, totaling to 90 respondents. The sample size was be 84, derived using Krecjie and Morgan (1970) table. The study adopted purposive sampling and stratified random sampling due to the heterogeneous nature of the target population. A semistructured questionnaire and interview guide were adopted as research instruments. The quantitative data was coded using SPSS tool and data analyzed by the use of arithmetic means and standard deviation. Data is presented in the form of frequencies and percentages in tables. Inferential statistics were computed using Pearson Correlation Coefficient, to measure the influence of the independent variables on the dependent variable. Qualitative data gathered from the interviews and open-ended questions in the questionnaire was evaluated based on definitions consistent with the study objectives. Thematic analysis was applied to interview transcripts to examine data to identify common themes and ideas that come up. From the study findings, the theme of Urban Roads Projects Completion in Kenya had a composite mean of 3.236 and standard deviation of 2.986. The theme of project design and Urban Roads Projects Completion in Kenya had a composite mean of 3.190 and standard deviation of 2.891. The theme of Project Financing and Urban Roads Projects Completion in Kenya had a composite mean of 3.346 and standard deviation of 3.046. The theme of Contract Administration and Urban Roads Projects Completion had a composite mean of 3.528 and standard deviation of 3.241and the theme of Stakeholders’ Involvement and Urban Roads Projects Completion in Kenya had a composite mean of 3.409 and standard deviation of 3.160. From the findings, the study concluded that project design, project financing, contract administration and stakeholders’ involvement influenced urban roads completion in Kenya. The study findings helped to make various recommendations, that is, that governments look into the issues of project delays, since urban road infrastructures make up a large part of the gross domestic product worldwide, playing a crucial role in the country’s growth; adequate funds should be provided to support the execution of a project in order to be successful; project managers to create awareness that the success of a project is marked to the satisfaction of its stakeholders. Suggestions for areas for further research were given, guided by the study findings.