Influence of public procurement characteristics on cost and time overruns in rural road construction projects: A descriptive analysis

Rural road construction often faces cost and time overruns in developed and developing countries. These challenges can compromise the economic viability of projects and delay their delivery, both of which are essential for regional development and the enhancement of the quality of life for surrounding communities. Despite extensive prior literature, there is limited coverage of how specific characteristics of public procurement processes influence cost and time overruns. Therefore, this paper examines the relationship between the public procurement characteristics of Colombian rural roads and the cost and time overruns. The research method involved a statistical analysis of data from 897 rural road contracts collected from contracting databases in Colombian open data. The results show that 19.7% of the projects experienced cost overruns, with an average overrun of 29.0%. Additionally, 19.5% demonstrated time overruns, with an average of 57.8%. The findings indicate that public procurement characteristics, such as contract method, award growth range, and project intensity (estimated cost/original deadline), are correlated with cost and time overruns in rural road construction. This study offers information for public agencies, project managers, and road planners, enabling them to prioritize preventive measures and management strategies to reduce delays and cost overruns in contracting rural road projects.