Browsing by Author "Kubi, James"

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    Incorporating impact of covid-19 into routine road maintenance by local government : case study of the greater Nebbi
    (Kyambogo University(Unpublished work), 2025-06) Kubi, James
    In projects, a contingency cost is included to account for potential variation that may arise during the construction phase. These variations may result from factors such as unforeseen conditions, design errors, or changes in scope. Contingency costs are normally allocated 10% to 15% of the project cost. Despite the provision of contingency costs, there are eventualities termed as "force majeure" that can occur during construction that exceed the contingency cost. Such eventualities include earthquake, wars and epidemics. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic is an example of such unforeseen circumstances. Its impact on the construction industry, particularly with regard to the increase in material costs, had not been encountered before. The main objective of this study was to incorporate impact of COVID-19 into routine road maintenance framework for District Local Governments in Greater Nebbi. To achieve this main objective, the study focused on identifying road characteristics which affect maintenance cost per kilometre in the Greater Nebbi, established the impact in change of unit rate of road maintenance on cost per kilometre before, during and after COVID-19 pandemic, statistically tested the mean difference in the unit rate before and after the COVID-19 pandemic and developed framework for road maintenance that incorporates the impact of COVID-19. The study adopted a case study approach. A total of five (5) roads were selected from the greater Nebbi of which one was sampled from Jonam-Pakwach District, two from Padyere-Nebbi District, and two from Okoro-Zombo District. The field data collected were analysed using Microsoft Excel, because it had data analysis package for analysing research data. The analysed relied on both descriptive and inferential statistics. Field data were tested using t-Test: Paired Two Sample for Means to test statistical significant difference between mean. The research identified several factors that influence the maintenance cost per kilometre of roads in the Greater Nebbi, including terrain, climatic conditions during maintenance, road class and road condition, level of service, soil type, drainage condition and road surface type. The study concluded that road maintenance projects in the area underwent substantial changes in the unit rate of maintenance costs per kilometre before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The research recommends that future investigations should develop a predictive model that account for the effects of global disruptions (such as pandemics) on supply chains and inflation could help road maintenance authorities anticipate cost changes. These models could use historical data from COVID-19 and previous economic shocks to forecast material and labour price trends and guide proactive budgeting strategies.