Free Essay: Challenges Facing Construction Industries in Developing Countries

Construction is a major sector of any country’s economy in the world. Developed and developing countries need to invest in construction sector in order to realize their economic targets. However, there are challenges they confront on a daily basis to experience the success they long for. These issues vary widely depending on the development status of a nation. This paper explores major challenges facing construction industries in developing countries.

Challenges facing construction industries in developing countries exist in four categories. They include engineering, human development, managerial, and sustainability challenges. Firstly, it is obvious that construction requires design, skills and knowledge to undertake any viable project. Developing countries find this to be a challenge because they have limited professional expertise to help in decision-making. Moreover, there are specialists to offer consultancy services, thus paralyzing vibrant construction efforts. This cuts across developing countries because some of them do not have enough institutions and resources to support training of engineers and construction experts. The consequence of this scenario is over dependence on foreign contractors to undertake major construction projects.

Another challenge facing construction industries in developing countries research capacity. In most of these countries, there are no enough researchers to carry out surveys and needs assessment researches. Thus, governments do not address pertinent construction needs because of lack of information. This incapacitation leaves room for the private sector and foreign investors to dominate the industry. To address this, developing countries should invest in research through funding and proper training. Poor strategic planning is another problem that plaques construction industry in the developing world. This is tied to the fact that these countries lack professional expertise to research and implement projects based on existing problem at the heart of every population.

Because of poor working environment coupled with deep-rooted poverty, some of developing countries repel talented employees who could boost the construction industry. For example, they cannot attract and retain professionals in the industry, yet this is the pillar of any successful business. In a low-technology industry like construction, you cannot undermine the power of people. They form the bedrock of any labor force. Employees seek opportunities in developed countries since third world nations offer low salaries and expose them to harsh working conditions.

Developing countries are also home bureaucracy and corruption, which are major elements that pull back the industry. In essence, there is usually the absence of political will to support construction projects. This is anchored on leadership gaps and problems that most of these countries experience over the years. Corrupt governments open room for stealing from public coffers and depressing the people through poor leadership. In such cases, affected countries lack a vision and future to improve their infrastructure. Additionally, corruption discourages innovation and investment. People do not think of new ideas when the environment does not offer room to develop them. Similarly, no investor would risk pumping resources in a country that condone corruption.

Another challenge that hinders growth in construction industry in developing countries is political instability. These countries have unstable governments, and coups are always knocking at the door. For example, African countries like Somalia, DRC, Libya and S. Sudan where fighting has become a norm and toppling of leaders a trend, have poor infrastructure and no company would be willing to invest in such nations.

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Online Resources:

http://geospatial.blogs.com/geospatial/2007/09/convergence.html

www.misbe2011.fyper.com/proceedings/documents/183.pdf