Construction in Developing Countries: Current

imperatives and potential

George Ofori
National University of Singapore
[email protected]

Abstract

The study is a review of the state of knowledge on the construction industries in developing
countries and an attempt to explore new ways to address the task of developing the industries to
enhance their capabilities to deliver the buildings and infrastructure which the countries require to
improve the quality of life of their citizenry. The nature of the long-term national development task
of the developing countries is discussed to provide the background for the examination of the ways
in which the construction industry can contribute to the fulfilment of the broad aspirations of the
nations, and the attainment of their developmental goals.

The objectives are: to consider the needs for built items in the developing countries in the context of
national development; to examine the challenges and problems facing the construction industries
and consider the usual solutions suggested; to explore possible new, contextually relevant ways in
which the industries can be developed and their performance improved; and to consider how
construction in developing countries can leapfrog developmental stages, and draw lessons for the
industrialised countries.

The study is based on an analysis of data on existing needs of construction items in the developing
countries; and a review of literature on the development of the industries in these countries. An
analysis of relevant key overarching issues and factors in the economies of the developing countries
and a consideration of the construction industry from its basic nature, informed the drawing of
inferences on new ways of improving the performance of the construction industries in the
developing nations. The possibility of leapfrogging in many areas is explored. It is suggested that
the construction industries in the developing countries have the potential to offer lessons for their
counterparts in industrialised countries.

Keywords: construction industry, developing countries, infrastructure, future, leapfrog, lessons

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 1.0 Introduction

The construction industries of the developing countries have been studied since the mid-1960s. The
earliest works were by the University College Economics Research Group (UCERG) which
undertook many studies for the World Bank and International Labour Office. The development of
knowledge on the subject is presented by Ofori (1993, 2012a). This study is a review of the state of
knowledge on the construction industries in developing countries. Its aim is to explore new ways to
develop the industries. The objectives are to:

1. consider the needs for built items in the developing countries in the context of national
development
2. examine the challenges and problems facing the construction industries which must fulfil these
needs and consider the usual solutions proposed
3. explore possible new, contextually relevant ways in which the industries can be developed and
their performance improved
4. consider how construction in developing countries can leapfrog developmental stages, and draw
lessons for the industrialised countries.

The study is based on an analysis of data on the needs of the economies and how construction can
contribute to their realisation; a review of recent literature on the development of construction
industries; and an analysis of the construction industry from its basic principles. The possibility of
leapfrogging stages and lessons for industries in industrialised countries are considered.

2.0 Development needs, goals and programmes

2.1 Washington and Post-Washington Consensus programme

Various approaches have been taken to set the poorer countries on a path to long-term development.
The Washington Consensus of economic development which was applied by the World Bank,
International Monetary Fund, United Nations agencies and the US government over the 1980s and
1990s comprised (Williamson, 2004): Fiscal discipline; Public expenditure priorities – moving them
away from subsidies and administration; Tax reform; Financial liberalisation; Exchange rates -
managed to induce growth in non-traditional exports; Trade liberalisation; Increasing foreign direct
investment; Privatisation; Deregulation; Secure intellectual property rights; and Reduced role for
the state. This ‘package’ was intensely debated and criticised (Williamson, 2004). It went through
many changes. By the late 1990s, it comprised: sound fiscal and monetary policies; broad-based
taxes levied at moderate rates; market determination of prices and quantities; discriminating use of
infant industry protection; an acceptance of foreign direct investment; active government provision
of education, health care, and infrastructure; and anti-poverty programmes. Stiglitz (2004) presents
a sharp critique of the approaches in the 1980s and 1990s, and concludes that, given the differences
among countries, there cannot be any consensus as a one-size-fits-all solution cannot work.

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The Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) provided the framework for socio-economic
development from 2000 to 2015. Progress was made in many areas including poverty reduction (in
1990, half of the population in developing countries lived on less than $1.25 a day, that proportion
dropped to 14 percent in 2015; the number of people living in extreme poverty declined from 1.9
billion in 1990 to 836 million in 2015); and primary education (net primary school enrolment rate in
developing regions reached 91 percent in 2015, from 83 percent in 2000; the number of out-of-
school children of primary school age worldwide reduced by half, to 57 million in 2015, from 100
million in 2000) (United Nations, 2015a). The progress in connectivity is impressive. By 2015, 95
percent of the world’s population was covered by a mobile-cellular signal; the number of mobile-
cellular subscriptions grew tenfold over 15 years, from 738 million in 2000 to 7 billion in 2015.
Internet penetration grew from 6 percent of the world’s population in 2000 to 43 percent in 2015;
and 3.2 billion people were linked to a global network of content and applications.

However, many of the targets were missed and much remains to be done (United Nations, 2015a).
For example, in 2015, 91 percent of the global population was using an improved drinking water
source, compared to 76 percent in 1990; 147 countries had met the drinking water target, but only
95 countries had met the sanitation target and 77 countries had met both targets. Worldwide, 2.1
billion people had gained access to improved sanitation, but 29.7 percent of the urban population in
the developing countries still lived in slums in 2014 (although this fell from 39.4 per cent in 2000).

2.2 Post-2015 Development Agenda

The Post-2015 Development Agenda is built around the attainment of the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) (United Nations, 2015b). The SDGs are presented in Figure 1, categorised with
respect to relevant aspects of construction. United Nations (2015b) considers the SDGs as being
integrated and indivisible, global and universally applicable, taking into account different national
realities, capacities and levels of development and respecting national policies and priorities. Unlike
the previous ‘consensus’ approach, it recognises that each government would set its national targets
guided by the global level of ambition but taking into account national circumstances; and decide
how the targets should be reflected in planning processes, policies and strategies. Countries could
use different visions, models and tools, in accordance with their contexts and priorities.

Basic human and national needs What construction must do

* Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere * Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote
* Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security and inclusive and sustainable industrialization and
improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture foster innovation
* Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being * Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements
for all at all ages inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
* Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality
education and promote lifelong learning opportunities Some of construction’s results
for all * Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable
* Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all management of water and sanitation for all
women and girls * Goal 7 Ensure access to affordable, reliable,
* Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable sustainable and modern energy for all
economic growth, full and productive employment and

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decent work for all

Inputs and methods of construction industry Broad international goals

* Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and * Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among
production patterns countries
* Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate * Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive
change and its impacts societies for sustainable development, provide
* Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, access to justice for all and build effective,
seas and marine resources for sustainable development accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
* Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use
of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, A key international ‘wherewithal’
combat desertification, and halt and reverse land * Goal 17. Strengthen the means of
degradation and halt biodiversity loss implementation and revitalize the Global
Partnership for Sustainable Development

Figure 1 Sustainable Development Goals

2.3 Role of construction in meeting development needs

The subject here is to consider the contribution the construction industry can make to the effort to
find viable solutions to the development challenges of developing countries. The literature provides
evidence on the potential of construction in development. Authors such as Lopes (2009) continue
the work began in the 1960s at UCERG on the developing countries (Ofori, 1993). Ofori (2012a)
and Zawdie and Murray (2008) examined how the construction industry could help to attain the
MDGs; and Ofori (2015) investigates its potential in the pursuit of the SDGs. Construction
influences development mainly through the provision of the physical infrastructure. Easterly and
Levine (1997) found that infrastructure is strongly and significantly co-related with economic
growth. Fedderke and Bogetic (2006) found a long-term relationship between infrastructure and
growth in South Africa. Calderon and Serven (2008) found that Africa's economic growth per capita
would be 1.0 percent higher if it had South Korea's infrastructure. In a study on Africa in general,
Escribano et al. (2008) found that infrastructure has a substantial effect on total factor productivity.
Foster and Briceño-Garmendia (2010) found that: infrastructure has been responsible for over half
of Africa’s recent improved growth performance. Models for assessing competitiveness of countries
give much weight to infrastructure provision (Schwab, 2016). Thus, whereas the Post-2015
Development Agenda and the SDGs themselves continue to be subjects of debate (Ofori, 2015),
there is a consensus on the importance of infrastructure for sustainable development.

Infrastructure needs are greatest in Sub-Saharan Africa, as shown in Table 1. Its infrastructure
networks increasingly lag behind those of other developing countries and are characterised by
missing regional links and stagnant individual access; its infrastructure services are twice as
expensive as elsewhere. Power is Africa’s largest challenge; 30 countries face regular shortages.

The role of the construction industry in economic growth and national development is well
recognised in developing and industrialised nations. As an example of the latter case, an element of

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the vision for UK construction by 2025 is an industry “that drives and sustains growth across the
entire economy by designing, manufacturing, building and maintaining assets which deliver
genuine whole life value for customers in expanding markets both at home and abroad”.
Governments of many industrialised countries have broader expectations of the construction
industry than in developing nations. In New Zealand, the government noted: “At home, we need to
address a persistent productivity gap to make sure our businesses remain competitive on the world
stage. Infrastructure will play a key role in lifting productivity and ensuring we can take advantage
of opportunities in the global economy…” (p. 7). Government of Ireland (2014) observed that in its
path towards economic recovery (following the 2008 economic and financial crisis), Ireland needed
a strong and sustainable construction industry, because it needed good quality homes and high-
quality commercial developments to underpin recovery and growth, and infrastructure fit for the
future. Sugii (1998) suggested: “From the perspective of building social infrastructure efficiently,
the improvement of labour productivity in the construction sector will lead to greater efficiency and
international competitiveness of the overall economy, as well as to the long-term development of
the construction industry”. Thus, a strong and efficient construction industry is a strategic national
asset and it is necessary to explore its full potential, from the perspectives of developing countries.

Table 1 Africa’s Infrastructure Deficit

Normalized units Sub-Saharan Africa Other low-income
low-income countries countries
Paved-road density 31 134
Total road density 137 211
Main-line density 10 78
Mobile density 55 76
Internet density 2 3
Generation capacity 37 326
Electricity coverage 16 41
Improved water 60 72
Improved sanitation 34 51
Source: Yepes, Pierce and Foster (2008)
Note: Road density is measured in km per 100 square km of arable land; telephone density in lines per thousand
population; generation capacity in megawatts per million population; electricity, water, sanitation coverage in percentage
of population.

3.0 How ready is construction?

3.1 Construction industry problems and challenges

The problems and challenges of the construction industries in developing countries are well
catalogued. The findings of two recent studies in Africa can be outlined. Windapo and Cattell
(2013) found the following in South Africa (in rank order): increases in the costs of building
materials; access to affordable mortgage/credit; high interest rates; high rate of enterprise
failure/delivery capacity and performance; mismatches between available skills and required skills;
availability of infrastructure; external influences such as government legislation; availability of
suitable land; public-sector capacity; poverty; critical global issues/globalisation; procurement

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practices/ capacity for sustainable empowerment; and technology. In a study of 323 public-sector
projects in Botswana, Ssegawa-Kaggwa et al. (2013) found these deficiencies in the construction
industry: (a) Deficiencies of clients – inadequate competent human resources, inadequate project
briefs, lack of project management approach, lack of effective project supervision, lack of a prompt
payment system for suppliers; (b) Deficiency in the regulation of professionals, contractors and the
procurement process – ineffective and inefficient regulation of project procurement process,
ineffective regulation of consultants, ineffective regulation of contractors; (c) Deficiencies of
suppliers – incompetent consultants, inefficient and ineffective contractors, unreliable utility
providers; and (d) Deficiencies of facilitators (such as firms which provide information).

Planning Commission (2013) highlighted these constraints of the construction industry in India: less
than 6 percent of workers had structured training; lack of a unified national regulatory framework
for construction firms; lack of an efficient and stable regime for dispute resolution; shortcomings in
contracting procedures (they are cumbersome and costly); lack of standardisation of core contract
conditions, procedures and evaluation criteria; time and cost over-runs; high operation,
maintenance, and financing costs; low access to institutional finance (it is inadequate and costly);
poor state of technology leading to inefficiencies, wastage and low value added; poor quality of
construction; low productivity growth; and low investment in research and development (R&D).

Some examples of new challenges facing construction industries in developing countries which
have not yet been addressed can be raised. The first of these is the high volume of uncompleted
buildings. Williams (2015) found that, in Ghana, a study of over 14,000 local government projects
showed that about one-third are never completed, although these were small projects (with a median
budget of US$36,000 and scheduled duration of five months). The second issue is the large volume
of debt owed to construction companies by public-sector clients. Whereas delays in payment have
been among the key problems highlighted by researchers for many decades (Sambasivan and Soon,
2007), the situation, in many developing countries, has significantly worsened, with the delays
running into many years (Fugar and Agyakwa-Baah, 2010). This situation will require a novel
approach to solve, considering the size of the debt compared to annual public-sector development
budgets and the need to continue to fund current and future projects. The third issue is the
increasing level of importance of stakeholders including traditional rulers, community leaders and
ordinary people, now well informed, and empowered by mobile telephony (Thasarathar, 2016).
Also important is the emergence and growth of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) dedicated
to monitoring projects, such as Road Watch in the Philippines, and the emergence of multi-
stakeholder initiatives such as the Construction Transparency Initiative (Ofori, 2016).

The construction industries in all countries face challenges and problems. Examples of recent
reviews of construction industries in industrialised countries are now considered. The weaknesses
of the UK construction industry identified in a strategic review were (HM Government, 2013): (a)
low vertical integration in the supply chain, with high reliance on sub-contracting which often leads
to fracture between design and construction management and a fracture between the management of

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construction and its execution leading to lost opportunities to innovate; (b) low investment in R&D
and intangible assets; (c) lack of collaboration and limited knowledge sharing; and (d) high
construction costs in comparison with the industry’s competitors, driven by inefficient procurement
and processes. It was suggested in the review that the industry could significantly enhance its
performance (HM Government, 2013). The ambition, under the strategy, was to achieve by 2025:
33 percent reduction in both the initial cost of construction and the whole life cost of assets; 50
percent reduction in the overall time from inception to completion for new build and refurbished
assets; 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the built environment; and 50 percent
reduction in the trade gap between exports and imports for construction products and materials.

The issues to be addressed under Ireland’s construction industry strategy included (Government of
Ireland, 2014): a strategic approach to the provision of housing, based on real and measured needs;
continuing improvement of the planning process, striking the right balance between current and
future requirements; availability of financing for viable and worthwhile projects; ensuring the
country has the tools to monitor and regulate the sector so that it underpins public confidence and
worker safety; and ensuring a fit for purpose sector supported by a highly skilled workforce
achieving high quality and standards.

The proposals being made in the developing and emerging economies for addressing their
construction challenges are similar to those in the industrialised countries. The aim of Malaysia’s
“Construction Industry Transformation Programme 2016-20” is: “a transformation of today's
construction industry into a modern, highly productive and sustainable industry that is able to enjoy
continued growth and enable Malaysian companies to compete with international players whether
domestically or abroad”. The programme has four strategic thrusts: Quality, Safety and
Professionalism; Environmental Sustainability; Productivity; and Internationalisation.

3.2 Developing country exceptionalism

It is necessary to consider the special nature of the industries in developing countries. Ofori (2012b)
shows that there are differences between the construction industries in industrialised countries and
those in developing countries with respect to appropriate responses to the inherent features of
construction owing to the differences in resources, sophistication of their administrative systems
and maturity of their industries; differences in the industries’ capabilities and performance; and how
they deal with the industry’s driving forces. Ofori (2012b, p. 8) argues that: “As, in the developing
countries, resources for implementing the policies and programmes are limited, the need is great
and time is of the essence, it is important that the knowledge that forms the foundation of the
policies and programmes should be sound and practically and directly relevant”. For example,
Foster and Briceño-Garmendia (2010) estimated the cost of Africa’s infrastructure needs at about
$93 billion per year in capital, and operation and maintenance expenditure (required capital
spending on power, on water supply and sanitation, and on transport were 26.7, 14.9 and 8.8 billion
per year respectively). The fragile states face an impossible burden and even resource-rich countries

7
lag behind. The construction industry also has a greater technical, professional and social
responsibility in the developing countries because the clients and users are often not knowledgeable
about the construction process; and the legislative and administrative systems are relatively weak.

Thus, the construction industry should: (a) deliver projects which meet the greatest level of
performance with regard to the parameters (including new ones here such as affordability,
durability, social performance); (b) contribute to economic growth and long-term national
development; (c) provide employment and enhance incomes; (d) enhance the quality of life of the
populace; and (e) further grow and develop as an industry. There is also a need for action across a
broad spectrum of areas because the project goals and performance parameters are closely inter-
related. For instance, the latest International Monetary Fund (2016) forecasts indicate that the
economies of many developing and emerging countries are facing stress, and thus, public budgets
are tight. Thus, there should be, initial cost savings so that a bigger volume can be constructed; and
higher quality and durability, in order to reduce repair and maintenance needs.

3.3 Some ideas for improved industry performance

Some of the suggestions on improving construction industry performance which have been made in
industrialised countries for many decades, but which are only practised in exceptional
circumstances could be key in the developing countries. Six pertinent examples could be
considered. These are: (a) effective co-ordination and integration of the contributions of members of
project teams; (b) project health; (c) community participation in aspects of projects; (d) project
governance; (e) post-occupancy evaluation; and (f) best practices. First, many reviews of
construction industries highlight the fragmentation of the industries as a negative feature. HM
Government (2013) considers the separation of design from construction and reliance on
subcontracting as among the most important weaknesses of the UK construction industry. The
structures of the construction process which are applied in the former metropolitan nations have
been adopted in the different cultural and administrative contexts in developing countries (Ofori,
1993). Some studies consider the project arrangements used in developing countries as contributors
to poor performance on projects and highlight the cultural disconnect (Rwelamila et al. (1999).
Thus, in the developing countries, a fresh approach can be taken. The roles of participants could be
based on the selection of the most appropriate persons and teams on the basis of their technical and
professional suitability in the context of the project concerned. Local cultural norms should inform
the design of contractual arrangements and project relationships, which are, currently, ‘foreign’.

The second example is project health: tracking key performance indicators on construction projects
while they are underway, to enable action to be taken on them at relevant points has been proposed
by some authors (Humphreys et al., 2004). This makes the learning of lessons a dynamic process.
Otherwise, as noted in HM Government (2013), lessons are never learnt, owing to the uniqueness of
projects, differences in teams for each project and poor data capture, analysis and dissemination in

8
construction. In developing countries, the idea of maintaining project health cards rather than
undertaking project post-mortems at the commissioning and feedback stages should be fostered.

The third example is the participation of other stakeholders in the construction process. Community
participation in various aspects of the construction process, such as design, has not been widely
accepted among the design professions (Wates and Knevitt, 1987), and has been applied on projects
only as an exception (Moodley and Preece, 2008). The community’s involvement can make the
design more culturally and contextually relevant; optimise benefits to users and the community; and
ease disruptions to the lives and livelihoods of residents. The community’s involvement can extend
to the operation and maintenance stage when members can provide performance information.

The fourth issue is that of project governance. Construction has a poor reputation among other
sectors, as evinced by its score in the Bribepayers’ Index (Transparency International, 2012). This is
more important in developing countries for many reasons. These nations have poor records with
regard to corruption, for example, on Transparency International’s (2016) Corruption Perception
Index, more than six billion people live in countries with a serious corruption proble. The global
average score was 43 (out of 100); that for Africa was 33, and for the Asia-Pacific region, 43. Thus,
ethics is a key issue, and it should be incorporated into project structures and procurement and
contractual arrangements, educational and training programmes in the developing countries.

The fifth example is post-occupancy evaluation (POE) which has also been proposed for many
decades (National Academy Press, 2001), but remains highly uncommon. Projects can produce a
stream of information for improving their own performance and those of similar ones in future.
Such evaluations can be undertaken at regular intervals after the completion of the item. For
example, in developing countries where green building benchmarks have not yet been firmly
established, the POE could incorporate environmental performance and could be undertaken some
years after completion rather than during the design stage, followed by regular assessments. The
possibility of establishing a national database on various aspects of the performance of items of
construction could be considered. This information could be developed into best practice guides.

The final example is “best practices” (which might cover some of those discussed above). In
construction, best practices occur in exceptional situations only. Construction Industry Institute
(2015) categorises “best practices” under headings including: Advanced Work Packaging;
Alignment – where project participants are working within acceptable tolerances to develop and
meet a uniformly defined and understood set of project objectives; Benchmarking and Metrics;
Change Management; Constructability; Disputes Prevention and Resolution; Front End Planning;
Lessons Learned; Materials Management; Partnering; Planning for Modularisation; Project Risk
Assessment; Quality Management; Team Building; and Zero Accidents Techniques. Cain (2003)
presents six goals for construction best practice: delighted end users and clients; lowest optimum
cost of ownership; elimination of inefficiency and waste; specialist supplier involvement in design;
single point of contact for clients; and proof of performance from measurement. Federal Facilities

9
Council (2007) proposes best practices owners should adopt at various stages of projects to
minimise contract disputes. Lahdenpera (1998) suggested actions “to modify the operational modes
of the construction industry for the common good”. Considering the needs and circumstances, in
developing countries it would be appropriate to apply best practices routinely on all projects.

The availability of information and communication technology makes the wide application of these
six practices in developing countries possible. Thasarathar (2016) highlights technological trends in
construction including: 3D printing, the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, drones, cloud computing,
infinite computing, reality capture, augmented reality, gaming engines, crowd-funding, crowd-
sourcing, generative design, big data and artificial intelligence. He notes that in future, t he cloud
will place a theoretically unlimited amount of processing power at the disposal of any company,
regardless of size, location, or experience, on demand to: solve complex problems; connect to an
unlimited number of people to get ideas; and raise capital for projects, through funding techniques
such as crowd-funding. As an application for POE, Rogers (2016) suggests that a database from a
building information model (BIM) linked to real time sensors can log many metrics to determine
the building’s performance against what the designers predicted and the quality of service it
provides.

4.0 What is to be done?

The construction industry in each developing country should ask itself: (a) in the changing national
and global economic and social developments, what does our nation need from the "built
environment" 'sector'? (b) how can the industry be set up to enable the pursuit of innovation and
continuous performance improvement? (c) how best can the industry benefit from existing and
emerging enablers, such as information technology? Each industry should seek context-specific
solutions to its problems and challenges. It should scrutinise its practices and procedures and
question assumptions which form their bases of practice elsewhere. For example, In the US, Federal
Facilities Council (2007) notes that: "Given the infinite complexities of delivering a building or
infrastructure project, the multiplicity of organizations and individuals involved, and the magnitude
of the dollars at risk, it is perhaps not surprising that the construction industry has been
characterized by an adversarial operating environment that generates disputes and conflicts" (p. 1).
Developing countries cannot afford to adopt this “practice norm”.

As another example, Construction Industry Board of UK (1996) proposed a strategy to improve the
industry's image. The internal objectives in the industry were: provide better value for the client;
improve the achievement of quality, professionalism, efficiency and profitability; and improve the
professional relationships between constructors, consultants and clients. The external objectives
were: attract greater investment; encourage more construction work to the responsible contractors
and consultants; improve environmental and social relationships; attract high-standard recruits; and
encourage equal opportunities. One could argue that this range of objectives is what should be
attained on projects on a routine basis. In the developing countries, these should be the norm.

10
Developing countries can leapfrog stages of development. First, the role of the community in
projects can be applied through the traditional system of governance and the increasing strength of
“development committees” representing particular districts. The chiefs and local committees can
contribute to many aspects of the projects in their areas over their life cycle. This will also make
stakeholder management necessary, resulting in leadership by the developing countries in that area.
The community could pool ownership and crowd fund essential infrastructure and social projects in
the area. Construction companies could set up joint venture entities with the communities.

Second, developing countries have the opportunity to derive meaning for, or apply aspects
including: construction as a contributor to value and wealth creation; effective, culture-sensitive and
contextually-relevant project team selection and dynamics; innovative community involvement in
project planning, design, operations and maintenance; effective value chain formation and
management, including strategic alliances among firms in design and construction for continuous
operations and possibly, formation of multi-disciplinary firms as a norm. Finally, the availability of
infinite computing power to the industries in developing countries offers many possibilities.
Examples include: (a) enhancing briefing, planning and design processes using augmented and
virtual reality; (b) using the capabilities of the IoT – to collect and analyse performance data in
operation of items, such as the volume of passengers, trade carried on a road, in order to guide
decisions on maintenance or rehabilitation; and (c) small firms using the available computing power
to set up effective project and enterprise management systems.

5.0 Conclusion

No construction industry is perfect. There is also no panacea for the challenges faced by the
industries. It is important to widen one’s horizon in seeking to improve the industries in developing
countries. In construction, only the best is good for the poor. If one thinks of the ideals of
construction, that is what the developing countries need. The ideals include: ensuring that each
project and each constructed item contributes effectively to national sustainable development, and
applying this in awarding and implementing projects; harmonising and aligning motivations and
obtaining the maximum commitment and contribution from each project participant; optimising the
combination of the participants’ contributions; applying best practices in all aspects of projects;
effectively developing the construction industry from each project; and providing leadership to the
community. More research is needed to explore the application of best practices and each of the six
previously proposed approaches in developing countries. Maturity of the industry might not be a
prerequisite in all these cases; it could even be a hindrance. If the construction industries in
developing countries apply these ideals, they can teach their counterparts in industrialised nations.

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