CRITICAL DELAY FACTORS, COST OVERRUNS, AND SUSTAINABLE MITIGATION STRATEGIES IN PAKISTAN’S CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Abstract

Construction delays remain a persistent and costly challenge in Pakistan, significantly undermining project performance and fueling disputes across the sector. This systematic literature review aims to synthesize and critically evaluate the existing body of research on delay issues within Pakistan’s construction industry, with the objective of identifying the principal causative factors, assessing their impacts, and examining the effectiveness of current mitigation approaches. We conducted a structured review following established systematic review guidelines; consequently, we analyzed and thematically classified the extracted evidence into eight key dimensions, including factor identification, impact analysis, risk management, sector-specific challenges, resource management, external influences, mitigation strategies, and governance. The results reveal that client-related financial constraints, consultant-related design errors, contractor-related resource mismanagement, and external socio-political instability are recurrently ranked as the most critical delay factors. Moreover, we found that delays frequently lead to severe cost overruns, prolonged litigation, and degraded project quality across both public infrastructure and private mega-projects. A significant gap in proactive risk management practices was also identified, with modern technologies such as Building Information Modeling being rarely adopted in practice. Therefore, we conclude that a fragmented approach to delay mitigation currently persists; a more integrated framework combining improved governance, robust contractual mechanisms, and technology adoption is urgently needed. This review contributes a consolidated knowledge base for researchers and practitioners alike, and we propose specific directions for future empirical studies to address the identified gaps.