Impact of Abandoned Infrastructure Projects on Educational Facilities in Federal Tertiary Institutions in Enugu State, Nigeria

1Ezeugwu Onyekachi Kingsley, 2Nwachukwu C.C and 3Nnadi E.O.E.

1Project Management Department, ESUT Business School, Enugu, Nigeria.

2Project Management Department, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria.

3Civil Engineering Department, Kampala International University, Uganda.

Corresponding author: nnadiezekiel@kiu.ac.ug

ABSTRACT

The study examines the impact of abandoned infrastructure projects on tertiary education in Enugu, Nigeria. It focuses on federal institutions and examines factors such as project incompletion, delays in access to education and research resources, and financial maladministration. Data was collected through a questionnaire distributed to 173 senior management staff of the Works Department of the tertiary institution and Data was analyzed using the Relative Importance Index (RII). The study found that stakeholder engagement was the most significant contributor to project abandonment in universities, with significant correlations found between project delays, access to resources, financial maladministration, and obsolescence of physical facilities. RII of 4.19 ranked 1st, inadequate financial resources (4.12), and changes in government policies and priorities (3.96) ranked 2nd and 3rd respectively were the main drivers of project incompletion. Inadequate Learning Spaces such as libraries, classrooms, and laboratories ranked highest with an RII value of 4.52, followed by a disturbance in productivity; 4.42 and increased maintenance cost due to deteriorating state, 4.32 as 2nd and 3rd ranking respectively were the top issues. The study emphasizes the need for effective stakeholder engagement and improved partnerships with the private sector. The study uses a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative data from surveys and qualitative insights from interviews with stakeholders.

Keywords: Abandoned, facilities, project incompletion, tertiary institution

CITE AS: Ezeugwu Onyekachi Kingsley, Nwachukwu C.C and Nnadi E.O.E (2024). Impact of Abandoned Infrastructure Projects on Educational Facilities in Federal Tertiary Institutions in Enugu State, Nigeria. IAA Journal of Applied Sciences 11(3):1-8. https://doi.org/10.59298/IAAJAS/2024/113.17.64