Tropical Scientific Journal

Cost Overrun Issue in Construction Projects: Comprehensive Global Review

2026-09-13T00:11:43+08:00

Objective: This paper aims to consolidate the causes of cost overrun in construction projects reported across a large and fragmented body of international literature into a single taxonomy, and to synthesize the lessons that emerge from a cluster of regional, survey-based empirical studies that test these causes using comparable quantitative methods.

Research Method: The paper adopts a narrative literature review and synthesis approach, drawing on two complementary literature streams: a broad international base of construction cost- and time-overrun studies published between 1954 and 2020 across more than twenty countries, and a focused supplementary set of fourteen survey-based empirical studies conducted in Malaysia, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates between 2010 and 2020. In total, 101 unique sources were reviewed and their causative factors classified inductively into ten categories.

Findings: Project and site management emerged as the single most consistently dominant cause of cost overrun across independent studies, countries, and analytical methods, followed by financial management and material-price volatility as a fairly consistent second tier. The relative importance of individual causes, however, was found to shift with institutional context — communication and regulatory delay, for example, ranked far more highly in the Pakistani evidence than in the Malaysian or UAE evidence — and a meaningful share of construction-phase problems traced back to design- and planning-stage decisions.

Originality: This paper is among the first to read a cluster of methodologically comparable Malaysia-Pakistan-UAE survey studies side by side against a broader international literature base, drawing out cross-study and cross-country patterns that are not visible from any single study in isolation.

Workability and Compressive Strength Development of Banana Leaf Ash Based Concrete

2026-08-24T01:07:19+08:00

Objective: To evaluate the effect of banana leaf ash (BLA), used as a partial replacement for ordinary Portland cement at 0-30% by weight in 5% increments, on the workability and compressive strength of concrete at 1, 3, 7 and 28 days of curing, and to identify a practical BLA replacement level for low-strength construction applications.

Research Method: Dry banana leaves collected from the Nawabshah area of Sindh were burnt and sieved to produce BLA. Standard 100 x 100 x 100 mm concrete cubes were cast at seven BLA dosage levels (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30% by weight of binder), with mix proportions, aggregates and the water-binder ratio held constant across all batches. Slump was measured immediately after mixing, and compressive strength was determined using a universal testing machine after 1, 3, 7 and 28 days of water curing.

Findings: Both workability and compressive strength decreased consistently as BLA content increased. Slump fell from 49 mm (control) to 7 mm at 30% BLA, an 86% reduction, with the rate of loss accelerating sharply beyond 15% BLA. Twenty-eight-day compressive strength fell from 29.9 MPa (control) to 14.5 MPa at 30% BLA (a 51.5% reduction), while at 10% BLA the 28-day strength loss was limited to about 9%. These trends are consistent with recent BLA studies (Islam et al., 2024; Aanu et al., 2025) that likewise report a dilution-driven strength penalty at comparable dosages.

Originality: While fly ash, rice husk ash and sugarcane bagasse ash are well characterised as cement replacements, banana leaf ash remains comparatively under-studied. This is among the first investigations to evaluate BLA concrete across a full 0-30% dosage range at four curing ages using locally sourced agricultural waste from Sindh, Pakistan, providing a regionally grounded dataset in support of agro-waste valorisation in construction.

Effect of Poor Communication on Construction Project Performance on Site

2026-09-12T20:23:17+08:00

Objective: This study aims to establish the effect of poor communication on construction project performance on site by profiling the demographic composition of survey respondents, testing the reliability of the questionnaire scale that measures performance effects, ranking the specific performance effects reported on site, and comparing perceived performance impact across respondent category and project sector

Research Method: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was administered to Clients/Employers, Consultants and Contractors engaged in construction projects in Sindh, Pakistan. Questionnaire was used to measure effect of communication on project performance with a five-point Likert scale. This yielded in collection of 154 valid responses which were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Findings: Data analysis showed that internal consistency for a ten-item behavioural scale with Cronbach's alpha of 0.642. Rework caused by unclear or undocumented instructions and quality problems caused by miscommunication were ranked as the most severe communication issues affecting on project performance. Although time delay was the lowest-ranked effect, all performance effects were rated highly by respondents. The findings showed that Clients, Consultants, and Contractors generally agreed on the negative impact of poor communication, with no significant differences between their views. In contrast, respondents working on public-sector projects perceived poor communication to have a greater impact on project performance than those working on private-sector projects.

Originality: This study identifies and confirms the major effects of poor communication among Clients, Consultants, and Contractors on construction project performance in Sindh. It also shows that poor communication has a greater impact on public-sector projects than on private-sector projects, providing useful insights for improving project management and communication practices.