CHAPTER ONE

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background of the Study

A project is a complex, non-routine, one-time effort limited by time, budget, and resource and
performance specifications designed to meet customer needs (Ofori, 2013). The construction
industry has complexity in its nature because it involves a large number of parties such as
clients, contractors, consultants, and others these parties are not properly managed according to
the contract agreement, and monitoring and evaluation systems its poor (Nyangwara, 2015). A
construction project is expected to be successful through a combination of many events and
interactions, planned or unplanned, over the life of a facility, with changing participants and
processes in a constantly changing environment. From various projects, the infrastructural
support for the country’s economy is provided by the construction industry by way of buildings
(housing, office space, retail space, factories, etc.) roads, railways, irrigation schemes, and water
supply schemes. Ethiopia’s water work construction sectors are among the most rapidly
growing sectors of the country. A large number of irrigation projects have been implemented
to improve productivity and allow stable production throughout the whole year, ensuring food
security (Shumye, 2018).

Most of the project performance in Ethiopia is very poor for different reasons and Irrigation
projects are among those which suffer a lot. The Success of construction projects significantly
depends on how the project has been managed and how driving elements can be controlled.
Irrigation and construction project success factors and performance indicators frequently
change from one project to the next. The main performance elements of irrigation projects are
classified depending on participants, the scope of services, the size of the project, the nature of
the contract, the implications of technology, and a variety of other factors.

The construction of irrigation systems involves converting the engineering solutions. It provides
in the design document a physical reality that enables safe storage or diversion, conveyance,
distribution, and application of water. In this regard, it is essential to select qualified consultants
and contractors, as well as to use appropriate construction materials and follow standard
construction procedures, etc. The primary problems during this implementation phase are
among others inadequate capacity of the client, consultants, and contractors that always lead to

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poor contractual administration, insufficient monitoring and evaluation, frequent design
changes that result in excessive cost, and time overruns (Gebul, 2021).

The study conducted by (Gebul, 2021), on ten large-scale irrigation projects in Ethiopia showed
that 78% of the reasons for project cost overrun were attributed to design, scope, and quality
changes. The average time overrun in irrigation project implementation is about 145%, which
has direct and indirect cost implications. The authors also assessed ten large-scale irrigation
dam projects and found an aggregate average cost overrun and time overrun of 176% and 151%,
respectively. For a poor country such as Ethiopia, such inefficiency in project implementation
has wide-reaching consequences. Reasons for such wasteful resource use were found to be
incomplete design, design change, scope and quality change, poor construction time estimate,
constructors’ low capacity, client inactions, and shortage of material.

The IAG (Eneyew, 2014) also conducted an assessment on the effectiveness of contract
administration on two large-scale irrigation projects (Megech-Seraba and Zarema May-Day in
the Tigray Region in Ethiopia) that are under construction. It was found that the poor
performance of these projects was partly attributable to the weak institutional capacities of
implementing bodies which were characterized by slow decision-making processes, inadequate
monitoring and evaluation, and coordination capacity. Even if such studies have been conducted
at the country level, the performance of small and medium-scale irrigation construction projects
was not part of the assessment yet. Small and medium scale projects do have an impact on the
livelihood of the farmers and contribute a lot to the economy of the country. Huge capital is
allocated both by the government and other donors to construct small and medium-scale
irrigation projects but little attention is given to the construction performance of the projects
and most of them are lagging behind their schedule. This paper will try to assess the factors
affecting the performance of small and medium-scale irrigation construction projects in Eastern
Amhara constructed by Amhara Water Works Construction Enterprise.

1.2. Statement of the Problem

The construction industry plays a major role in the development and achievement of the goals
of society. Mainly irrigation development is key to the sustainable and reliable agricultural
development of nations. Boosting the construction performance of irrigation schemes will
ensure economic sustainability for low-income earners (Nyangwara, 2015). Smallholder
irrigation farming is valuable for improving the welfare of rural communities in Ethiopia.

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Irrigation schemes in Ethiopia perform below average as some have collapsed. Even though the
Irrigation practice is one of the ancient practices of Ethiopians it is confined to a small-scale
level and a fragmented approach. Smaller, medium, and large-scale irrigation infrastructure
must be created to ensure food security for Ethiopia's rapidly growing population at the
household level. Notwithstanding the construction industry's significant contribution to the
economy of developing countries including Ethiopia and the critical role, it plays in those
countries' development, the performance of the industry remains generally low (Eneyew, 2014).

Besides, the construction projects in Ethiopia are dominantly completed within a period longer
than what is agreed upon by the contracting parties and with costs deviating highly from the
contract amount (Meja, 2020). According to previously conducted research (Sammy, 2014),
Ethiopia's irrigation construction projects they are not developed to their full potential and rank
among the lowest in the world. This is attributed to frequent claims, variations, and change
orders occurring in those projects. Given the crucial role that the irrigation sector plays in
Ethiopia and other developing countries, as well as the poor performance of the sector there,
raising the sector's performance should be a top priority. Thus, improving the performance of
the construction of irrigation projects in the country including in Eastern Amhara need s to be
one of the priority considerations for the improvement of the capability of constrictions in
developing countries.

The previous studies (Nyangwara, 2015), also emphasize that project performance and
performance improvements are critical issues for the construction industry. Poor construction
performance of small and medium-scale irrigation projects in the Amhara region became a
common phenomenon and led the region to a crisis in the water development works. The driving
factors affecting the construction performance of irrigation projects in the study area should be
properly identified to find way-outs to improve the construction performance of the projects,
therefore increasing performance increases efficiency, so this research aims to analyze the
performance parameters on small and medium-scale irrigation construction projects in the case
Eastern Amhara

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1.3. The Objective of the Study
1.3.1. General Objectives

The main objective of this research is to identify and evaluate the critical factors that affect the
performance of small and medium-scale irrigation construction projects of Amhara National
Regional State Irrigation and Lowland Areas Development Bureau constructed by Amhara
Water Works Construction Enterprise in Eastern Amhara.

1.3.2. Specific Objective

▪ To assess the current performance of small and medium-scale irrigation project

construction in the case of East Amhara.

▪ To identify significant factors that affect the performance of small and medium-scale
irrigation construction projects in the case of East Amhara.

▪ To evaluate the relationship between project performance and the identified significant
factors of small and medium-scale irrigation construction projects in the case of East
Amhara.

▪ To forward recommendations for enhancing the construction performance of small and

medium-scale irrigation projects in the case of East Amhara.

1.4. Research Questions of the Study

▪ What is the current status of the construction performance of small and medium-scale
irrigation projects in Eastern Amhara?

▪ What are the top driving factors impacting the construction performances of small and
medium-scale irrigation projects in East Amhara?

▪ What is the relationship between key factors and project performance of small and medium-
scale irrigation construction projects under Amhara Water Works & Energy Development
Bureau in East Amhara?

▪ What will be the possible recommendations to enhance small and medium-scale irrigation
projects from their poor construction performance?

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1.5. Significance of the Study

By revealing how risk impacts are managed and minimizing and improving the sector
performance (quality, project completion time, design, finance, resource utilization,
sustainability, and project competitiveness) in a different scenario, this study is expected to
contribute to the irrigation project significantly. Additionally, the study expects to help find
strategies to enhance the successful execution of irrigation projects for policymakers and
decision-makers in the water resource development sector.

1.6. Scope and Limitations of the Study

The study is constrained in both scope and depth as a result of many limitations related to
finances, time, labour, and because of the national problem. Accordingly, the study area is
limited to Selected Amhara Water Works Construction Enterprise small & medium-scale
irrigation construction projects in Eastern Amhara started from the year 2008 E.C. to 2013 EC
(2016 – 2021 GC) Completed. The study is restricted to issues with project performance and
variables that affect project performance. The researcher faced the following problems and
challenges while conducting the study.

1.7. Key Term Operational Definitions

▪ Project: Irrigation construction projects constructed in the last six years from 2008-2013
E.C. under Amhara National Regional State Irrigation and Lowland Areas Development
Bureau.

▪ Construction: means New small- and medium-scale irrigation construction projects are
being built under the under Amhara National Regional State Irrigation and Lowland
Areas Development Bureau.

▪ Owner: a government agency for which the construction project is being carried out.

▪ Contractor: A person, either natural or legal, who has a contract for the construction of
a building with them.

▪ Consultant: The person or organization selected by the owner to develop and approve
all budgets, as well as to carry out and oversee the project's necessary cost management.

▪ Performance: the accomplishment of a specific irrigation construction project about the

set costs, time, quality, and productivity standards.

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 ▪ Key performance indicator (KPI): a method of measuring performance that assesses
an organization's effectiveness or the success of a specific task it undertakes.

▪ Time overruns: It is defined as time that recently passed after the planned completion
dates.

▪ Cost overruns: The difference between the project's preliminary and final construction
cost estimates is the time after the intended completion dates.

1.8. Organization of the Study

There will be five chapters in the study. The study's background, a statement of the problem,
the objective of the study, the research question, the significance of the study, the scope and
limitations of the study, Operational definition of key terms are all covered in the first chapter.
The theoretical review, empirical review, research gap, and conceptual framework are covered
in the second chapter. The main factors affecting the performance and key performance
indicators in small and medium irrigation construction projects are identified in this chapter
through a thorough analysis of concepts and definitions. The research methodology and
techniques for this study are described in the third chapter. This chapter demonstrates the
approach employed to accomplish the study's necessary goals and respond to its research
questions. The fourth chapter contains data collected, interpreted, and discussed through
Regression, correlation, frequency, proportion, mean, and standard deviation. The last and the
fifth chapters contain a major finding, conclusion, and suggestion.

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 CHAPTER TWO

2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This section provides an overview of previous studies that have been conducted in the area of
building project performance by various academics and contains an analysis of the study's
theoretical underpinnings, conceptual framework, empirical findings, a critique of the literature
already in the field, a summary, and any knowledge gap.

2.1. Theoretical Framework

2.1.1. Construction activities including irrigation

A project is a Short-term effort to deliver a unique good, service, or outcome. All endeavors are
risky, and (Hillson, 2020) lists three reasons why. The first argument is that unpredictability is
a byproduct of all endeavors since they all share certain traits. All projects share a several
characteristics, such as the transition from the present to the future, which is unknown,
assumptions and limits, human engagement, diversity and complexity, and others. The second
factor is that each initiative is initiated with a definite objective. The fourth defense is that the
environment in which a project is carried out impacts it.

In a nutshell, a construction project is the act of humans creating something for a specified
purpose could be a highway, a bridge, a dam, a home, an airport, a retail establishment, a place
of business, etc. Construction is the procurement and application of resources, including cash,
skilled labor, materials, and equipment, on a specific site under plans, specifications, and other
documents stipulated in a contract to meet a client's needs.

(Nyoni, 2017) assert that the construction industry addresses the provision of housing,
infrastructure, and consumer goods, as well as a few of the primary development goals of
generating output, establishing employment, and distributing revenue. Water acquisition,
distribution, and transportation for diverse uses, including building irrigation, are called
irrigation construction projects. If specialists must design and build this irrigation system, the
risk of unfavorable outcomes, such as structural collapse, cost overruns, and disagreements, is
also noted.

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