Variation order management in specialized marine infrastructure: practice gaps, governance framework, and mitigation strategies for Oman’s fishery ports

Variation orders (VOs) are a consistent source of cost overruns, schedule delays, and stakeholder dissatisfaction in marine infrastructure construction. However, specific governance frameworks for managing them are missing from the literature, especially in emerging economies. This study explores VO management practices, governance challenges, and mitigation strategies in Omani fishery port construction projects, a key but understudied sector within Oman’s Vision 2040 infrastructure plan. Using a qualitative, interpretivist approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight experienced practitioners from government agencies, engineering consultants, and contracting firms. Data analysis involved thematic analysis with both deductive coding from the interview guide and inductive refinement across five focused areas. Results show that while VO management is officially structured, it faces operational challenges due to governance friction: approval delays and unclear authority (8/8), lack of marine technical data (6/8), and incomplete design documentation (4/8) systematically hamper an otherwise well-established administrative process. To address these issues, practitioners identified a seven-part governance model including early warning systems, defined approval timelines and authority levels, design freeze points, front-end risk reviews, lessons-learned mechanisms, digital VO tracking, and dispute prevention strategies. Stakeholder-specific mitigation approaches were also developed for contractors, consultants, and government agencies, differentiating immediate operational measures from long-term institutional reforms. [R2-4] This study provides the first empirically informed VO governance model tailored to Oman’s fishery port sector, grounded in triangulated practitioner evidence rather than statistical validation, enhancing both the theoretical understanding of governance friction in specialized marine infrastructure and offering practical tools for practitioners and policymakers in this field.