Empirical Study on Delays in Highway Projects: A Comparative Analysis of Small and Large Projects

Delays in National Highway projects, regardless of their geographical location, have exerted a substantial impact on project performance and yielded unfavourable economic consequences. The majority of these projects in India are implemented by Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), which use a wide range of contract types, including traditional ones such as item rate contracts and bills of quantity, in addition to more modern alternatives such as build operate transfer, engineering procurement and transfer, and recently developed hybrid models. This study examines and compares the reasons of critical delays in national highway projects in Himachal Pradesh with project characteristics. This mixed-methods study gathered comprehensive data from project participants using qualitative analysis and a survey questionnaire. Interviews and document analysis identified delay factors, which were then assessed through a structured questionnaire distributed to a representative sample of project participants. The findings highlight critical delay factors in National Highway projects in Himachal Pradesh and offer insights into the unique challenges faced by large PPP projects and small traditional projects. Despite the small sample size of 134 survey responses, the findings are significant but may have limited applicability to other infrastructure projects due to socio-economic and geographic variations. This suggests a research gap indicating that further analysis is needed to understand the challenges in EPC and PPPs for large hilly road projects, along with a focused study on organizational culture to assess highway project performance. This study contributes empirical data to the literature about the steep National Highway projects in Himachal Pradesh. Policymakers, project specialists, and stakeholders may ascertain the reasons of delays and formulate targeted actions to enhance project efficiency.