ASSESSMENT OF UTILIZATION OF ARBITRATION FOR RESOLUTION OF FEDERAL ROAD CONSTRUCTION PROJECT DISPUTES

Abstract

The Construction industry most especially road construction projects, have conceivably objectionable reputation of being highly combative, and this gives rise to dispute occurrence and dispute resolution system. One of the dispute resolution methods is arbitration. This study assessed the level of utilization of arbitration mechanism in the resolution of federal road disputes in the South west, Nigeria. It also assessed the effect of utilization of arbitration on road project delivery. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The population of the study is four hundred and thirty-six (436), comprising stakeholders in the construction industry such as architects, builders, engineers, project managers and quantity surveyors who were engaged in various capacities as consultants to Federal road projects. Using a sample size of 209 respondents, which was calculated using Yamane (1967), the study retrieved a response rate of 88.04%. 74.5% of the total respondents were male. Federal Ministry of Works Standard Conditions of Contract (Road works) is the mostly used standard form contract. In the entire standard forms contract considered by the respondents, arbitration is the most prevalent methods of dispute resolution. The study found that utilization of arbitration has no significant relationship with delivery of road construction project. It is recommended that project managers should not focus on arbitration as the only variable that could aid road project delivery but should also put into consideration other factors that could impact project delivery.