Procurement systems of public roads projects in Tanzania: an evaluation of factors affecting Coast and time performance

The major challenge faced by the governments of developing countries and the Tanzania in particular is the lack of efficient and effective system to cater for performance of roads construction projects in terms of quality, time and cost without compromising transparency and high level of accountability. Public roads projects have been implemented by using conventional procurement system. The design-build procurement system has received acceptance from the Government of Tanzania. The main reasons cited have been economy and time. This research makes a critical assessment of the procurement systems with major focus on the conventional procurement system and innovative procurement system; and factors affecting cost and time performance in infrastructure projects. In addition, an assessment of current developments in procurement of roads projects in Tanzania is made. The research is based on an empirical data and questionnaire survey of key professionals both in the public sector and outside. One of the outputs of the research is that conventional procurement system is more prone to factors affecting cost and time performance of roads projects than design-build procurement system. The research has been an exploratory one, so further research is recommended to establish the link between procurement system and quality of roads project; and demand-supply of plant and equipment in construction industry.