Study of Excessive Bureaucracy in Construction Projects – Causes of Low Level of Competition and Lengthy Tendering Process: A Case Study of Afghanistan
Sebghatullah Karimi1, Zabihullah Zhakfar2, Mohammad Ismail Sarwary3
1Sebghatullah Karimi*, Department of civil and industrial engineering, Construction faculty, Kabul Polytechnic University, Kabul, Afghanistan.
2Zabihullah Zhakfar, CoST – the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative, Ministry of Economy, Kabul, Afghanistan.
3Mohammad Ismail Sarwary, Department of civil and industrial engineering, Construction faculty, Kabul Polytechnic University, Kabul, Afghanistan.
Manuscript received on September 02, 2020. | Revised Manuscript received on September 15, 2020. | Manuscript published on October 30, 2020. | PP: 66-73 | Volume-10 Issue-1, October 2020. | Retrieval Number: 100.1/ijeat.A17071010120 | DOI: 10.35940/ijeat.A1707.1010120
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: Excessive bureaucracy has been one of the most challenging issue for infrastructure sector in many countries. Countries are different in terms of their institutional settings, organizational cultures and political balance, and therefore, Afghanistan infrastructure/construction sector is no exception. This phenomenon has negatively impacted the delivery of infrastructure projects and hindering the country to reach its strategic economic goals. There are national projects that have been delayed for several years and the average tendering duration, based on existing researches, is almost 3 times more than the normal practices. This research is aimed to identify major causes of excessive bureaucracy in infrastructure sector that influence the level of competition and tendering duration, and provide technical recommendations for improvements. To do so, 17 factors causing low level of competition and lengthy tendering process have been identified through literature review and interviews. The factors are categorized under two groups; causes of; 1) low level of competition and, 2) lengthy tendering process. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to 08 construction firms. As a result, a response rate of 08% was achieved. Relative importance index (RII) is used to analyze the survey result. The research findings indicate that the top 5 factors causing excessive bureaucracy in delivering infrastructure/construction projects in Afghanistan and causing low level of competition and lengthy tendering process are: 1) Using traditional methods of procurement instead of electronic system, 2) Lack of accountability by procuring entities, 3) Delay in payments to companies, 4) Slow decision – making by procuring entities and 5) Corruption during the project lifecycle (inception to completion). The outcome of this research will help the government to take necessary actions for eliminating unnecessary steps in the procurement of public infrastructure projects and ultimately improve project delivery. In addition, the research findings will help the construction companies to be fully aware of bureaucracy
Keywords: Competition, Economic goals, Bureaucracy.
Scope of the Article: Construction Economics