A Study on Factors Influencing Cost Overrun in High-rise Building Construction across India

Cost overrun is common problem in construction projects worldwide. Most Indian construction projects, particularly those involving high-rise buildings, have had severe cost overruns. For managers, architects, engineers, and contractors, completing building projects within the specified cost budget has become the most important and hard assignment. Since it is common for high-rise building projects to go over budget, the aim of this study is to find out the causes of cost overruns and provide effective measures. The study found 70 cost overrun factors based on a comprehensive literature review and expert opinions. A Google form questionnaire was distributed to 150 construction professionals across India. After following up, 101 of the 150 responses were received. A five-point Likert scale was used and the acquired data was analyzed and ranked using the Relative Importance Index (RII) technique. According to the findings of RII, the top ten critical factors influencing cost overruns were frequent change orders during construction by the owner, delay in construction, escalation of material prices, market inflation or deflation, rework, frequent changes in design, inaccurate evaluation of the project timeline, unforeseen ground condition, inaccurate quantity take-off, and delay in progressive payment by the owner. Spearman’s rank correlation test revealed that there is a very significant relationship between the rankings of factors provided by the owner, the consultant, and the contractor. In addition, a factor analysis tool in the SPSS software was also used to categorize the seventy factors into sixteen core components. The top ten critical factors were presented to subject matter experts, and their suggestions were being compiled. These results are expected to help construction professionals minimize cost overruns, improve cost control measures, and initiate future research.