Risk management strategies in large-scale projects in Nigeria

The large-scale infrastructure development is central to the socio-economic growth of Nigeria;however, historically, the execution process is often undermined by the consistent occurrence ofcost increases, project schedule slippage, and quality shortfalls. These hindrances are usuallyrelated to poor risk-management measures and the limited use of modern technologicalinstruments. The study examines how risk-management strategies impact the performance of thelarge-scale projects in Nigeria, specifically Lagos State, with focus on the adoption of digitaltechnologies such as artificial intelligence, machine-learning, and blockchain.This study employs a quantitative research design in which a structured questionnaire is used andsent through Microsoft Forms. The data was gathered amongst professionals involved in deliveringlarge scale projects in Lagos, Nigeria and the valid responses received were 370 which met thenecessary sample size. The analysis of the respondent characteristics was conducted usingdescriptive statistics, and the reliability analysis ensured that measurement scales were internallyconsistent. The hypotheses were tested and the relationship between risk-management practicesand project performance indicators were analysed using regression analysis and analysis ofvariance.These findings suggest a statistically significant positive risk identification effect on costperformance, which explains 50.9% of the variation in cost performance. Risk assessment andprioritisation have a very strong impact on project delivery time, which accounts 79.4 % of thevariation in schedule performance. Furthermore, project quality is greatly improved by theapplication of digital and artificial-intelligence-based risk monitoring tools, which explains 61.9%of the variation in quality performance. The results of this research present a strong empiricalsupport of the claim that efficient risk-management practices are essential success factors in largescaleNigerian projects.The study presents a contribution to the project-management literature by empirically confirmingthe contingency, complexity and systems theory in the context of large-scale infrastructuredelivery in a developing economy. It also broadens the current body of knowledge by showinghow digital technologies are increasingly becoming critical in enhancing risk-managementeffectiveness.