DOI : https://doi.org/10.18517/ijaseit.14.2.19744

Causes of Delay in EPC Projects: The Case of Indonesia

Sarwani (1), Imam Baihaqi (2), Christiono Utomo (3)
(1) School of Interdisciplinary Management and Technology, Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology, Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia
(2) Faculty of Creative Design and Digital Business, Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology, Sukolio Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia
(3) Department of Civil Engineering, Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology, Sukolio Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia
Fulltext View | Download
How to cite (IJASEIT) :
Sarwani, et al. “Causes of Delay in EPC Projects: The Case of Indonesia”. International Journal on Advanced Science, Engineering and Information Technology, vol. 14, no. 2, Apr. 2024, pp. 618-2, doi:10.18517/ijaseit.14.2.19744.
Citation Format :
The construction industry is a significant part of the economy in developing countries. During Indonesia's 2010-2020 period, many large-scale EPC projects were launched to build new plants and infrastructure facilities. However, most of these projects experienced delays. This research aims to identify the causes of delays in EPC projects in Indonesia. It also investigates whether specific characteristics of EPC projects within the fertilizer industry in Indonesia, particularly those associated with state-owned companies, contribute to these delays. Data was collected through questionnaires with samples from company construction experts involved in EPC projects consisting of 41 owners, 14 contractors, and 12 consultants. The Relative Importance Index (RII) was subsequently computed, revealing the top ten delay causes for EPC projects in Indonesia based on the highest RII values consisting of delays in procuring equipment/materials, contractor difficulties in funding the project, ineffective project planning and scheduling, the winner of the tender is the lowest bidder, rework due to errors during construction, poor communication and coordination between parties involved in the project, delays in the work of design, disputes in understanding the EPC contract and project specification, unrealistic the duration of the project and delays in the owner's decision. Comparison of delay factors with other developing countries in Asia and Africa shows similarities. Notably, among these categories, contractor-related factors demonstrated the highest RII values. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient shows that all respondents highly agreed with the individual ranking of delay factors.   

H.A. Alobadi and S. Naimi S. “A Study Of Construction Delays,” Materials Today Proceeding, Volume 60, Part 3, 2022, Pages 1890-1897, doi:10.1016/j.matpr.2021.12.529.

M.N Muhadi and Yudoko G., “Root Cause Analysis of Project Delay in BGC-TEG Project”, European Journal of Business and Management Research, Vol. 6 No. 6, 2021, doi:10.24018/ejbmr.2021.6.6.1161.

J. Kim and P. Bilbao, “Why Are the Frequently Reported Delay Factors in Construction Projects Recurring?: A Qualitative Study “, International Journal Of Sustainable Construction Engineering And Technology, Vol. 14 No. 1 (2023) 21-31, doi:10.30880/ijscet.2023.14.01.003

S.J. Choi, S.W. Choi, J.H. Kim, and E.B. Lee, “AI and Text-Mining Applications for Analyzing Contractor’s Risk in Invitation to Bid (ITB) and Contracts for Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) Projects”, Energies, 2021, 14, 4632, doi:10.3390/en14154632P.K.

Iskandar, S. Hardjomuljadi and H. Sulistio, ”The Most Influencing Factors on the Causes of Construction Claims and Disputes in the EPC Contract Model of Infrastructure Projects in Indonesia”, Review of International Geographical Education (RIGEO), 11(2), 80-91. 2021, doi: 10.48047/rigeo.11.02.07

U.S. Putro and M. Rino M, “Scenario Planning in Selecting Contract Strategy Scheme to Achieve OTOBOSOROR (On Time, On Budget, On Specification, On Regulation, and On Return) Target in PT Kilang Pertamina International”, European Journal of Business and Management Research, doi: 10.24018/ejbmr.2023.8.3.1987

M. Akhtar, “Dealing with EPC Project Management Problems and Challenges A Case Study on Petrochemical, Oil and Gas EPC Projects in Middle-East”, Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference to be held in Abu Dhabi (2020), UAE, doi:10.2118/203431-MS.

C. Riveros, A.L Ruiz, H.A. Mesa, J.A. Guevara, “Critical Factors Influencing Early Contract Termination in Public Design–Build Projects in Developing and Emerging Economies”. Buildings, 2022, 12, 614. doi:10.3390/buildings 12050614

S. Ahmed and S. M. El-Sayegh, “Multicriterion Decision-Support Model for Selecting the Appropriate Delivery Method in Sustainable Construction Projects”, Journal of Architectural Engineering Volume 30, Issue 2, 2023, doi:10.1061/JAEIED.AEENG-1669.

F. Tahmasebinia and V. Song, “Significant Factors Causing Delay in the Cambodian Construction Industry”, Sustainability 2022, 14, 3521. doi:10.3390/su14063521.

M.V. Reddy and H. Rao, “Analysing the critical delay factors and delay in material supply for construction projects in India”, Materials Today: ProceedingsVolume 60, Pages 1890 – 1897, January 2022, doi:10.1016/j.matpr.2021.12.529.

H. Saxena, Y. Mittal and N. Gupta, “Construction Delays In India: A Review Of Shifting Focus, Mitigation, Methodologies And Research Gap”. Indian Concrete Journal. May 2023, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/370659896.

G. Srikanth, M.G. Naik and T. Dhilip, “Construction Delay Assessment using Compound Index and Fuzzy Optimization Technique: A Case Study of Hyderabad Construction Industry”, Journal of Advanced Research in Applied Sciences and Engineering Technology 34, Issue 2 (2024) 30-49, doi:10.37934/araset.34.2.3049

N.S. Mohammad, H.M. Ikramul and H.D Mehrab, “Investigating the causes of construction delay on the perspective of organization-sectors involved in the construction industry of Bangladesh”, International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation 2022, doi:10.1108/IJBPA-10-2021-0137.

A. Alshibani, M. Julaih, A. Adress, O.Alshamrani. F. Almaziad, “Identifying and Ranking the Root Causes of Schedule Delays in Oil and Gas Pipeline Construction Projects” Energies 2023, 16, 283. doi:10.3390/en16010283.

M,V. Reddy and H. Rao, “Analysing the critical delay factors and delay in material supply for construction projects in India”, Materials Today: ProceedingsVolume 60, Pages 1890 – 1897, January 2022, doi:10.1016/j.matpr.2021.12.529J.

M. R. M. Zadeha and A. Qayoumia, “Investigation and ranking the causes of delay in EPC projects of nonindustrial buildings of 9, 10, 19, 20 and 21 phases of South Pars of Iran” Journal of Project Management 8, 2023, 37–44, doi: 10.5267/j.jpm.2022.8.003.

A. I. Aminorlah, N. A. Rahim, Z. Mohamed and A. N. Mazlan. Critical delay factors in typical physical projects: The case of the Ministry of Home Affairs in Malaysia. Journal of Construction in Developing Countries, 28(2): 57–79., 2023, doi: 10.21315/jcdc-01-22-0014S.O.

S. K. Saha, , A. Patil, , A Dwivedi, D. Pamucar and , A. S. Pillai, “Analyzing the interactions among delay factors in construction projects: A multi criteria decision analysis”, Reports in Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2023, pp. 241-255, doi:10.31181/rme040116112023s

A. Rauzana, A. Zahrah and W. Dharma, “Critical delay factors for construction projects in Central Aceh District, Indonesia” F1000Research 2022, 11:474 Last updated: 20 Jan 2023, doi:10.12688/f1000research.110024.3

K.R. Molenaar, and A.D. Songer, “Model for public sector design-build project selection”, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management (1998), Vo. 124, No.6. November/December, doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1998)124:6(467).

M. S. Islam and B. Trigunarsyah, “Construction Delays in Developing Countries: A Review” KICEM Journal of Construction Engineering and Project Management, 2017, doi:10.6106/JCEPM.2017.3.30.001.

L. L. Hoai, Y. D. Lee and J. Y. Lee, “Delay and Cost Overruns in Vietnam Large Construction Projects: A Comparison with Other Selected Countries” KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering (2008) 12(6):367-377, doi:10.1007/s12205-008-0367-7.

Y. K. Mittal, V. K. Paul, A. Rostami, M. Riley and A. Sawhney, “Delay factors in construction of healthcare infrastructure projects: a comparison amongst developing countries” Asian Journal of Civil Engineering, 2020, doi:10.1007/s42107-020-00227-1

V. S. Nguyen, H. H. Nguyen, D. A. Nguyen and D. T. Hai, “Delay factors in the construction of irrigation and hydropower projects in Vietnam” Archives Of Civil Engineering, Vol. Lxix Issue 1 2023, pp. 5 –20, doi: 10.24425/ace.2023.144156.

A. A. Fashina, M. A. Omar, A. A. Sheikh and F. F. Fakunle, “Exploring the significant factors that influence delays in construction projects in Hargeisa” Heliyon 7 (2021) e06826, doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06826.

Y. M. R. Aboelmagd and R. F. Aziz Eskander, “Integrated Time Schedule Delays Forecasting Model In Egyptian Construction Sites” Operational Research in Engineering Sciences: Theory and Applications, Vol. 6, Issue 3, 2023, pp. 220-245, doi:10.31181/oresta/060311.

Irfanullah, M. F. Hasmori1, M. H. Memon and R. Ismail, “Critical Factors and Mitigating Measures of Construction Delays of Pakistani Building Construction Projects” International Journal Of Sustainable Construction Engineering And Technology, Vol. 14 No. 2 (2023) 240-249, doi:10.30880/ijscet.2023.14.02.025.

A.P. Gurgun, K. Koc and H. Kunkcu, "Exploring the adoption of technology against delays in construction projects", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 31 No. 3, pp. 1222-1253, 2024, doi:10.1108/ECAM-06-2022-0566

Y. Zheng, L.C.M. Tang and K.W. Chau, “Analysis of Improvement of BIM-Based Digitalization in Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) Projects in China”. Appl. Sci. 2021, 11, 11895. doi:10.3390/app112411

E. Alenazi, Z, Adamu and A. Al-Otaibi, “Exploring the Nature and Impact of Client-Related Delays on Contemporary Saudi Construction Projects” Buildings 2022, 12, 880, Doi:10.3390/ buildings12070880

A.A. Alnaser, N.M. Alsanabani and K.S. Al-Gahtani, “BIM Impact on Construction Project Time Using System Dynamics in Saudi Arabia’s Construction” Buildings 2023, 13, 2267. doi:10.3390/ buildings13092267

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

    1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
    2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
    3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).