Causes of Delayed Payment in Construction Project in Nigeria

Delay in payment to contactors and other relevant parties have caused serious problem on the successful execution of construction projects in the country. It causes several problems to the contractor and other participants. The aim of this study is to determine the causes of delayed payments in the construction industry. The objective of this study is to identify the causes of delayed payment. In order to obtain valid data for the study, questionnaires were designed and distributed to a randomly selected sample of one hundred individuals among contractors, subcontractors, consultant and clients in the Nigerian construction industry. In total, eighty five completed questionnaires were returned and then analysed statistically. The total mean score was used to determine the ranking of the results of the study. Client’s disagreeing on the valuation of work done, slow processing of variation orders and poor quality of works were the major causes of delayed payment identified in the study. It was recommended that the stakeholders should work as a team in the execution of project to avoid bottlenecks usually encountered in agreeing contractors‟ payment. In conclusion, if the necessary action can be enforced, the problem of delayed payment can be reduced drastically.