Risk in construction is fully integrated with every facets of construction life cycle. Construction risk may put a threat to an organization’s success and debar to achieve the project objectives in terms of time, cost, quality, safety and environmental sustainability.


With construction risks construction projects may experience with ill defined scope, design and constructability issues and mismanaged vendors. This leads to a clear time-cost quality gaps.

Risks related to contractors

Inappropriate construction program planning

Insufficient program scheduling

Inventive design or contractors

Lack of knowledge in planning construction programs

Lack of coordination between project participants

Non availability of sufficient professionals and managers

Non availability of sufficient amount of skilled labor

Incidence of dispute exists in most

Serious noise pollution caused by construction

General safety accident occurrence

Risks related to subcontractors

An item of work is separated with the following five subdivisions In the total quantity method:

Low management competency of subcontractors Without competent management skills, If subcontractors cannot successfully manage their resources to meet the needs from several concurrent construction sites.

The construction risks can be categorized in the following ways.

Technical Risks

Imperfect design.

Insufficient site investigation.

Ambiguity over the source and accessibility of materials.

Suitability of specifications.

Logistical Risks

Accessibility of resources - mainly construction equipments, spare parts, fuel and labor.

Accessibility of adequate transportation facilities.

Construction Risks

Indecisive production of resources.

Weather and seasonal implications.

Industrial relations problems.

Financial Risks

Price rises.

Accessibility and fluctuation in foreign exchange.

Interruption in Payment.

Repatriation of funds.

Local taxes.

Political Risks

Constraints on the accessibility and employment of expatriate staff.

Customs and import restrictions and procedures.

Difficulties in disposing of plant and equipment.

Insistence on use of local firms and agents.

20 Key Risks in Construction

Rigid project schedule

Design variations

Unnecessary approval procedures in administrative government departments

Incompatible construction program planning

Low management capability of subcontractors

Deviations of construction programs

High performance/quality expectations

Insufficient program scheduling

Variations by the client

Imperfect approval and other documents

Unfinished or inaccurate cost estimate

Lack of harmonization between project participants

Non availability of sufficient professionals and managers

Non availability of sufficient amount of skilled labor

Bureaucracy of government

General safety accident occurrence

Inadequate or insufficient site information (soil test and survey report)

Incidence of dispute

Price inflation of construction materials

Serious noise pollution caused by construction