Political impacts on the management of public construction projects in Malta

Abstract

With politics so deeply engrained in Malta's polarised society and with the construction industry acting as a major pillar in the Maltese economy, it is critical for public projects to be managed effectively. For this reason, project managers need to be aware of the political milieu to enable the formulation of a holistic understanding leading to project success. Four case study projects have been undertaken to investigate how political influence translates in an actual construction project. Interviews were carried out across a range of key project professionals so as to establish correlation points. Results have indicated how changes in government and political decisions have led to project changes, inferior quality, reworks, unrealistic time frames and additional costs. Additional pressure borne by the project manager and their team was also a key finding. When compared to the private sector, public construction projects attract a vast number of stakeholders requiring an extensive stakeholder management to be carried out by the government representative. Through the power/interest matrix, the media has emerged to be a key stakeholder and an influential factor on the success of public projects and their works. lt also has the power to affect project managers on a professional level. The study brings to light the challenges that project managers are faced with when dealing with complexities surrounding public projects.