INFLUENCE OF PROJECT PLANNING ON IMPLEMENTATION OF ROAD CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS IN KILIFI COUNTY

This study investigated the influence of project planning on implementation of road construction projects in Kilifi County. The target population comprised of 150 with a sample size of 109. The study focused on the project management team, monitoring officers, project engineers, financial officers and auditors and consultants and contractors. This study adopted descriptive research design. Stratified random sampling method was used to select relevant respondents from across the board in the various categories of the three roads agencies in Kilifi County. Structured questionnaires were used to collect primary data from respondents. Secondary data was obtained from related materials in the internet, project management journals, white papers, periodicals and books relevant to the study. Quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS version 25. Descriptive statistics was used and multiple regression analysis was used to predict the effect of project schedule, project budget, project quality and project communication on implementation of road construction projects in Kilifi County. Based on the findings, r egression and spearman’s correlation results indicated that there is a positive and significant relationship between project schedule, project budget, project quality, project communication and implementation of road construction projects in Kilifi County. The study recommended that the application of CPM as a simple network and resource-loading could help to reduce construction project delays. Secondly, cost overruns should be traced back to root causes that are often associated with the preliminary phases, project planning or design, that such root causes include; poor estimation of quantities, design variations or errors, project schedule changes, scope changes, unexpected site conditions, rising costs of materials and labour and or unforeseen events. Thirdly, part of the audit should include a review of the project staff understanding of the quality parameters or metrics and skills expertise and knowledge of the people in charge of producing or delivering the project. Lastly, project team members should use a variety of communication methods to deliver project information, including meetings, telephone calls, email, voicemail and websites. Key Terms: Project Budget, Project Communication, Project planning, Project Quality, Project Schedule CITATION : Kirui, M., & Kitheka, S. (2023). Influence of project planning on implementation of road construction projects in Kilifi County. The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 10 (4), 341 – 355. http://dx.doi.org/10.61426/sjbcm.v10i4.2754.