ESCALATION OF PROJECT COST DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The construction sector is known as a major contributor to the overall development and expansion of the country's economy and any delay in a project may cause a cascading effect on the country's economy. In 2020, most countries have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic that had a significant impact on construction projects resulting in project delays and project cost overruns. This paper identifies factors that influence the project cost escalation due COVID-19 pandemic and studies the escalation of main construction materials. Questionnaires were conducted online to the target respondents who were involved in the construction projects during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research area covers the Klang Valley which is centered in Kuala Lumpur and includes its adjoining cities and towns in the state of Selangor. The findings of this study reveal that the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) imposed by the government has significantly increased the project cost, such as hand sanitizer, face masks and Rapid Test Kit (RTK) provided to the workers. As a result, the contractor companies have suffered in maintaining their finances as they have to continue to pay their workers in full even when the companies are still surviving the epidemic of COVID-19. The findings of this study may assist construction parties as well as government bodies in strategically planning the finances in dealing with a similar pandemic situation in the future. © 2022 ISEC Press.

When Precarity Encounters COVID-19: A Critical Analysis of Korean Policy Responses

In the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, Korea was considered a successful case of containment of infection. However, the employment protection response has not been as successful as the health response. Although the Korean Government has taken unprecedented fiscal measures, the hardest-hit groups including workers in non-standard employment are still least protected. The pandemic has found countries with widespread precarious employment at their most vulnerable. Since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the Government has promoted the deregulation of capital and the flexibilization of labour, with precarious work becoming ‘normal'. COVID-19 shows that workers excluded from labour protection before the crisis are the most vulnerable in the current crisis. Dependent contractors are not protected from termination of contract or loss of income, while employees in a comparable situation may be supported by job retention schemes and unemployment benefits. This means employers using dependent contractors can avoid employer liability in a normal situation as well as in times of crisis. While the Government attempts to expand unemployment insurance to certain groups of dependent contractors, debates over who should bear the financial burden are underway. Employers refuse to contribute to unemployment insurance for dependent contractors, arguing that they are not the employers of these workers. This article analyses how flexibilization in Korea has affected vulnerability and the segmentation of labour protection. It argues that the ‘protection gap' among workers resulted from political choices and the strategy of capital to transfer cost-and-risks onto workers and society as a whole. These pre-pandemic political choices undermine the chances of a fair recovery. This article argues that establishing employer responsibility is essential for a humancentred recovery. © 2022 Kluwer Law International BV, The Netherlands

Investigation on factors causing construction delay and their effects on the development of Oman’s construction industry

Construction delay in projects is a common manifestation in the construction industry. Delay in construction will lead to a bad relationship between the parties involved and will also lead to an increase in the allocated completion time. Delay in the ongoing project might result in the loss of the money, time and other facilities by the client and cause a lot of financial damage to the contractor due to its investment in the purchase of equipment, construction materials and the hire of skilled workers. Delay in construction is a common problem that occurs mostly due to the unforeseen problems during the design & construction stages which often lead to delays in the completion of the project. Oman’s construction industry is one of the most important industries for the country’s economic development and growth. In this study, analysis of some available literature was conducted, and a questionnaire survey was floated among contractors, consultants, clients, project managers, and engineers involved in construction projects. All the collected responses were evaluated by using SPSS. The results of the study identified a total of 60 causes of delay out of which three factors have a “High” significance level for construction delays. These factors of “High” significance were associated with “Client related issues only” in which the initial design was altered by the client, delaying in deciding by the client and, scope change by the client. Majority of the delay (84 %) was observed to be lying in the range of 1‑2 years. This study also recognized the effect and minimization of regular delay and delay resulted due to Covid-19. Minimizing construction delay criteria can be managed by having a proper control system in the project time and funds

COVID-19: main challenges during construction stage

Purpose>This paper reviews the current literature on the major challenges faced by building contractors in the UK due to COVID-19 to create an evaluation framework.Design/methodology/approach>A PRISMA scoping review systematically maps the information published and establishes the potential challenges, as a precursor to a literature review that synthesises the data available to establish an initial COVID-19 evaluation framework to build a rationale for a future series of studies.Findings>The research identified these seven challenges: health and safety on-site, economic cost, possible legal exposures, manpower availability, instability of the supply chain and subcontractors, and the uncertainty related to the constant and unpredictable evolution of the pandemic. The magnitude of each challenge was also found to differ depending on the size of the contractor, the rigor of local regulations and the sector where the contractor works.Research limitations/implications>This research contributes to increasing understanding on the subject and provides an initial assessment framework, based on these seven parameters, so that contractors can analyse their weaknesses and plan specific priorities so that their companies can remain competitive, minimising the impact of COVID-19 and possible future waves.Originality/value>This research is timely and relevant as it produces the first academic review on how COVID-19 has affected contractors and the construction stage. This document gives a holistic view of the new scenario created by COVID-19 and creates a self-assessment system for contractors to test their resistance to COVID-19.

THE POTENTIAL “PROCICLICITY” of SOME RULES to PROTECT the C.DD. WEAK CONTRACTORS and the LAW of COMPETITION in the ECONOMIC-HEALTH CRISIS

The spread of the pandemic from COVID-19 has put a strain on the market and, therefore, the rules that govern it. The confinement measures imposed in order to avoid the spread of contagion have highlighted the current inadequacy of some provisions governing contractual relationships, highlighting how their strict application in such a peculiar economic context would cause serious and significant damage to the market. Starting from these premises, the work analyzes the potential procyclicality of some rules to protect the weak contractor by placing the emphasis on the need to stimulate an emergency law that is based on less rigid regulatory approaches and more attentive to the multifarious needs of the markets. © 2021 Ibero-American Law Institute. All rights reserved.