Construction project delays: implications on time and cost in Government Construction Projects in Uganda: a case study of the JLOS house project for the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.

Abstract

This report presents a comprehensive assessment of construction delays, time-cost implications, and contractor acceleration strategies on the JLOS House Phase 01 Project, a flagship justice sector infrastructure development in Uganda. The study evaluates the project’s performance against three progressively revised baselines, with the original completion date of 7 May 2024 now extended to 31 December 2025, reflecting over 600 days of cumulative delay. Using a combination of field observations, impacted work program analysis, progress reports, Minutes of site meetings, other project records and stakeholder websites, the research identifies critical delay causation factors including late design approvals, scope changes, institutional bottlenecks, equipment breakdowns, and material shortages. Delay categorisation and EOT claim analysis were supported by tools such as Gantt chart overlays, timeline simulations, and FIDIC-based contractual frameworks. Despite funded acceleration efforts such as manpower scaling, phased trade deployment, and site re-organization, the contractor was unable to recover schedule slippage due to unresolved external dependencies and fragmented coordination The study offers practical insights into delay mitigation and project control in complex public infrastructure projects by integrating academic knowledge from construction management, contract law, risk analysis, and scheduling techniques (e.g., CPM, delay causation modelling). The report concludes with actionable recommendations aimed at improving scope definition, approval workflows, digital project monitoring, and institutional capacity within Uganda’s public construction sector.