The construction industry in Nepal is being criticized for its poor performance, low safety and poor work quality. Evaluation of project performance is necessary in construction projects to assess the work status and to bring improvements in overall performance. It is generally measured covering aspects like time, cost, quality and safety of the project. This study was based on the performance of one of the national pride projects of Nepal; Bheri Babai Diversion Multipurpose Project, which is under construction. Project performance and challenges were assessed based on secondary data and questionnaires survey. Questionnaires including general information about respondent, satisfaction level of project personnel, mainly the client and contractor, challenges for improved performance, and measures for the improvement of performance were prepared and distributed to all the concerned personnels for their responses. The respondents were grouped into three major categories namely Client, Consultants and Contractors. Out of the total 38 potential individuals, only 35 persons responded. For more detailed information, data collection, field observation and in-depth interview among primary stakeholder representatives were carried out. Performance of project in terms of cost, time, safety and quality was evaluated based on the secondary data obtained from the office records. Based on the information obtained and subsequent analysis, project performance pertaining to cost and time was found rather poor. Performance pertaining safety and work quality were as expected. The client satisfaction index was calculated from the responses received from the client and consultant respondents and work team satisfaction index was calculated from the respondents representing the contractor. Both client satisfaction and contractor team satisfaction indices were also found poor. Based on the responses, all the challenges and factors for improvement were ranked using Likert scale. According to the overall ranking from the responses of client, consultant and contractors, it is derived that major challenges pertain to poor performance were unrealistic scheduling plan, absence and/or frequent turnover of labors, COVID pandemic and lockdown. Design change and weak leadership causing delayed decision making by the contractor, lack of suitable financial analysis, lack of response to changes and viii modifications, late issue of drawings, high waste rate of construction materials were also the major challenges being faced by the project. For the improvement in the project performance, proper planning of works, availability of hydro mechanical and electro mechanical parts as and when needed, committed leadership and management, hiring skilled workers, training for their capacity enhancement, availability of sufficient resources were the most important factors for ensuring the desired level of construction performance. Further, close monitoring and supervision of works, improved communication between the client, consultant and contractor, working out realistic action plan for the completion of project works and timely decision-making were the noted areas as revealed by the respondents.

Keywords

Bheri Babai Diversion Multipurpose project, key performance indicator, challenges in performance, performance improvement, Performance indices

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