Study of Excessive Bureaucracy in Construction Projects – Causes of Low Level of Competition and Lengthy Tendering Process: A Case Study of Afghanistan

Excessive bureaucracy has been one of the most challenging issue for infrastructure sector in many countries. Countries are different in terms of their institutional settings, organizational cultures and political balance, and therefore, Afghanistan infrastructure/construction sector is no exception. This phenomenon has negatively impacted the delivery of infrastructure projects and hindering the country to reach its strategic economic goals. There are national projects that have been delayed for several years and the average tendering duration, based on existing researches, is almost 3 times more than the normal practices. This research is aimed to identify major causes of excessive bureaucracy in infrastructure sector that influence the level of competition and tendering duration, and provide technical recommendations for improvements. To do so, 17 factors causing low level of competition and lengthy tendering process have been identified through literature review and interviews. The factors are categorized under two groups; causes of; 1) low level of competition and, 2) lengthy tendering process. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to 08 construction firms. As a result, a response rate of 08% was achieved. Relative importance index (RII) is used to analyze the survey result. The research findings indicate that the top 5 factors causing excessive bureaucracy in delivering infrastructure/construction projects in Afghanistan and causing low level of competition and lengthy tendering process are: 1) Using traditional methods of procurement instead of electronic system, 2) Lack of accountability by procuring entities, 3) Delay in payments to companies, 4) Slow decision – making by procuring entities and 5) Corruption during the project lifecycle (inception to completion). The outcome of this research will help the government to take necessary actions for eliminating unnecessary steps in the procurement of public infrastructure projects and ultimately improve project delivery. In addition, the research findings will help the construction companies to be fully aware of bureaucracy risks in the procurement process and develop necessary risk mitigation plan for the successful completion of construction projects.