Cost, Time and Quality Performance in Tertiary Institution Construction Projects in Nigeria: Drivers, Indicators and Implications for Procurement Reform

Abstract

Persistent cost overrun, schedule delay and quality failure in Nigerian tertiary institution construction projects represent a long-standing governance and procurement challenge. This study examines cost, time and quality performance indicators in tertiary institution construction projects in South-South, Nigeria, identifies their principal drivers, and develops implications for procurement reform. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted with 310 construction professionals, comprising architects, builders, quantity surveyors, civil and structural engineers, and project managers, drawn from federal and state tertiary institutions across six South-South states. Data were collected through a structured five-point Likert-scale questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics, the Relative Importance Index (RII), and Spearman rank-order correlation. Schedule overrun (RII = 0.842), cost overrun (RII = 0.822) and rework frequency (RII = 0.808) emerged as the most critical performance challenges. Spearman correlation confirmed significant positive relationships between post-contract monitoring, procurement strategy alignment, contractor prequalification, and PPA 2007 compliance with all three performance dimensions at p < 0.001. Post-contract monitoring recorded the strongest correlation with quality performance (r = 0.688). Findings support targeted procurement reforms encompassing structured strategy selection, rigorous contractor prequalification, PPA 2007 enforcement, and the establishment of dedicated project monitoring units in institutional works departments. This study contributes original sub-regional empirical evidence on the tripartite performance of tertiary institution construction projects in Nigeria and advances a procurement reform framework grounded in field data from South-South institutions.