Title: Exploring the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on risks faced by infrastructure projects in Pakistan

Authors: Gohar Azeem; Mirpouya Mirmozaffari; Reza Yazdani; Rao Aamir Khan

Addresses: Department of Industrial Manufacturing and Systems Engineering, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA ' Department of Industrial Manufacturing and Systems Engineering, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA ' Department of Management, Islamic Azad University, Chalous Branch, Chalous, Iran ' Comsats Institute of Information Technology, Park Rd, Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory 45550, Pakistan

Abstract: The current COVID-19 pandemic is making a huge impact on society. Most projects are either abandoned or halted due to this pandemic, especially in developing countries. We have conducted this study to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on construction projects by using the concept of rework projects. 'Rework project' is a class of projects that are initiated to achieve the intended objectives in the second attempt after failing to achieve the goals in the first attempt. People who were involved in the selected projects in different capacities were interviewed and analysis of the responses was performed. The unique challenges/risks such as time urgency, overburdened resources, and mobilisation of contractors, inappropriate documentation gaps, and technological changes were highly significant in rework projects. By having clear recognition to these highly significant risks, organisations will be well equipped in devising strategies to manage and complete the rework projects in the post-pandemic world.

Keywords: COVID-19; pandemic; project management; developing countries; risk management; rework projects; engineering projects; Pakistan.

DOI: 10.1504/IJADS.2022.121558

International Journal of Applied Decision Sciences, 2022 Vol.15 No.2, pp.181 - 200

Received: 23 Sep 2020
Accepted: 15 Oct 2020
Published online: 18 Mar 2022 *

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