APPLICABILITY OF BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGEMENT TASKS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The construction industry in Nigeria is plagued by factors such as delays, cost overruns, and lack of transparency, which could be attributed to poor project management practices. These factors have significant negative impacts on project delivery, leading to clients’ dissatisfaction, delayed payments, and reputational damage. This research seeks to investigate the applicability of blockchain technology in the management of construction projects in Nigeria to address the aforementioned challenges. It adopts a qualitative research method, in which a semi-structured questionnaire was issued to 70 respondents made up of construction project management stakeholders. 50 questionnaires were returned, representing80.83% response rate. The data obtained were analyzed using both descriptive methods. The results of the analysis show that construction stakeholders have limited knowledge of blockchain technology. It also shows that enhanced transparency is rated as the highest benefit of the adoption of blockchain technology in construction project management in Nigeria with frequency 12, while lack of awareness is the greatest challenge rated with frequency 21 out of 50. Furthermore, technical expertise is rated as the highest critical success factor. The study concluded that the applicability of blockchain technology in construction project management has the potential to revolutionize the construction industry and mitigate the negative impacts of identified challenges in the industry. Given these findings, the study recommends the promotion of the application of blockchain technologies in construction project management tasks through the strengthening of institutional frameworks by government and built environment professional bodies.