A comparative analysis of the performance of traditional contracting and design-build procurements on client objectives in Nigeria

Client objectives in a building project are to build within the budget and estimated construction period and being satisfied with the quality of the project. The ability of the procurement methods in achieving these objectives does influence the client to choose any to implement the project. The performance of two of such procurement methods: the traditional contracting and design-build against client objectives were determined using data set of 53 traditional contracts and 15 design-build projects gathered through a questionnaire survey administered unto respondents in three locations in Nigeria. Time overrun, cost overrun and clients' satisfaction with quality standard were used as basis for comparison. Analysis showed that, the mean cost overrun, and time overrun for design-build were 21.4% and 36.8% respectively as compared with 42.6% and 135.6% for traditional contracting projects. As for quality standard, 78% of design-build clients were satisfied with their projects as compared with 51% for traditional contracting. The overall conclusion is that both methods involve overrun but design-build performed better.