Evaluation of feasibility studies in public infrastructure projects in ministry of works and transport in Uganda

Abstract

The intention of the study was to evaluate the use of feasibility studies in the public infrastructure projects in Ministry of Works and Transport in Uganda. The study was guided by the three specific research objectives ;- to assess the role of feasibility studies in the public infrastructure projects in Ministry of Works and Transport in Uganda, to identify the challenges of feasibility studies in these public infrastructure projects and to design appropriate strategies to improve the usage of feasibility studies. The research study was designed quantitatively, non-experimental, and cross sectional in nature because of the need to report the responses immediately. Primary data was collected by use of self-administered questionnaires with the content validity index of 0.97. Data was analyzed using SPSS to generate descriptive statistic including frequency tables, mean and standard deviation. Findings indicated that majority of the respondents agreed that the role of feasibility studies is to determine viability of a public infrastructure project and how much time and resources are required to finish the project on time with the highest mean of 4.7051 and 4.5256 respectively. However, inadequate funding, poor risk analysis and inappropriate identification of the project consequences were the dominant challenges facing the feasibility studies process on the infrastructure projects with the highest mean of 4.5385 and 4.4359 respectively . Among others was low deployment of skilled labour in the use of feasibility studies to evaluate Projects. Adequate funding of the feasibility studies in Department of Transport services and Infrastructure under The Ministry of Works and Transport and engagement of stakeholders in the public infrastructural project management were the dominant strategies. The study recommends that the Ministry of Works and Transport should source for resources from all corners to facilitate the feasibility studies process to effectively and efficiently evaluate the public infrastructure projects in order to achieve economic growth and development.