Improving Performance in African Transport Megaprojects: Insights from a Systematic Review

A systematic review reveals significant challenges in the governance, performance management, conceptualization, and complexity management of African transport megaprojects, highlighting the need for stronger institutional frameworks, participatory governance, and capacity building. Future research should focus on integrating policies and strengthening institutions to enhance project performance and accountability.

The systematic review on performance controls and accountability in African transport infrastructure megaprojects, conducted by researchers from the Department of Engineering Technology and Didactics at the Technical University of Denmark, reveals significant challenges and opportunities for improvement. Analyzing 947 records, narrowed down to 35 articles published between 1980 and 2022, the study identifies four main research themes: project governance, performance management, project conceptual management, and complexity management. The findings indicate that African megaprojects often suffer from poor governance, lack of proper project conception, and significant weaknesses in performance controls and accountability. Transport megaprojects in Africa are characterized by their complexity, involving multiple public and private stakeholders, extensive financial investments, and long development periods. Despite these challenges, many projects fail to deliver on time, within budget, and to the required quality standards. The review highlights the importance of proper project governance, recognizing corruption as a characteristic of megaprojects, and the need for implementing a multi-level project governance model.

Critical Gap in Research on Megaprojects

One critical issue identified is the lack of systematic reviews on performance controls and accountability in African transport megaprojects. This gap in the literature has led to a limited understanding of the current state of transport project performance and research trends in Africa. The study emphasizes the need for further research to advance strategies against inferior performance controls and accountability challenges, particularly in the context of African infrastructure projects. The review also points out the necessity of restructuring project governance policies and implementing participatory governance mechanisms to enhance project success. Strengthening institutions, integrating and developing policies, and building capacity for project management are crucial steps to improve performance controls and accountability in transport megaprojects. The study's findings support the notion that effective control and accountability can secure and service infrastructure funds needed for nationwide socioeconomic development.

The Importance of Accountability in Project Success

Accountability is fundamental in delivering successful projects but is often underinvestigated and underestimated, especially in Africa. Project control has a significant role in achieving good performance against set objectives, yet a lack of proper controls and accountability can kill a project. The review highlights that amidst continued monetary tightening and Africa's post-COVID recovery challenges, effective control and accountability can aid in securing and servicing infrastructure funds needed for nationwide socioeconomic development. It is essential to inform policymakers, practitioners, and scholars on the key strategies to guide streamlining policies on selecting, funding, implementing, and managing projects. Project managers can benefit from better understanding project performance through enhanced controls and better governance mechanisms. The stakeholders affected by these large construction projects will improve the quality of their decision-making process and hold developers accountable for inferior performance.

Identifying Key Issues in Project Performance

The review identified several issues and concepts influencing performance controls and accountability in managing large-scale transport projects. These include the project environment, institutional frameworks, stakeholder management, and the overall project governance model. Weaknesses in these areas often lead to poor project performance, characterized by cost overruns, schedule delays, and quality issues. The study emphasizes the importance of addressing these weaknesses through stronger institutional frameworks, better stakeholder management, and more effective project governance models.

Challenges of Complexity in African Megaprojects

African megaprojects often face additional challenges due to their complexity and the involvement of multiple stakeholders. The review highlights the need for a multi-level project governance system that includes external stakeholders and respects their views. This approach can help create a more supportive and transparent environment for project implementation. Additionally, the study suggests that developing and implementing participatory governance mechanisms can enhance stakeholder buy-in and improve project success rates.

Future Directions for Research and Practice

Capacity building is another crucial area identified by the review. Enhancing project management capabilities at all levels of the project delivery cycle can lead to better controls and accountability. Simplifying controls and accountability to suit the level of expertise and manageability of the project team can help alleviate complexity and address issues such as delayed procurement and approvals. Flexible strategies tailored to the African context, such as flexible contracting and communication methods, can also improve project performance.

The review calls for future research to focus on integrating and developing policies that address the identified challenges. Strengthening institutions and building capacity for project management are essential steps to improve performance controls and accountability in African transport megaprojects. The study also suggests that Africa can learn from its past mistakes and other successful global projects to improve its infrastructure development strategies. Project conceptual management, often faltered in previous projects, can be improved through extensive project quality selection schemes and reviews.

The systematic review underscores the importance of addressing the theoretical integration of performance controls and accountability in African transport infrastructure projects. By identifying the main research themes and highlighting the existing weaknesses in project governance and conception, the study provides valuable insights for policymakers, practitioners, and scholars to improve the delivery of transport megaprojects in Africa. Future research should focus on integrating policies, strengthening institutions, and implementing participatory governance mechanisms to enhance project performance and accountability.