UNIVERSITY OF

GONDAR
INSTITUTE OF
School of Architecture & Construction Technology and Management
.
TECHNOLOGY
Department of Construction Technology and Management

Research on

Impact of covid-19 pandemic on construction industry the case Rama Construction

. Plc. In Commercial Bank of Ethiopia Bahir Dar district building Projects

Compiled by: - Yasichalew Sefineh

ID. No: - 01212/09

Section: - 03

Advisor: - Mr. Solomon. Chalie

Date: - january25,
2021

Gondar, Ethiopia
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First and foremost, I would like to thank the Almighty God for his support and protection in all
aspects of my life. Then I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisor Mr. Solomon
chalie, for his guidance and valuable suggestion of this project work.

Finally, I am forever indebted to my parents. I would like to express my special gratitude and
thanks to site persons for giving me such attention and time.

ABBREVIATIONS

i
Art………………….……...Article

CBE……………………..Commercial Bank of Ethiopia

COVID - -------------- coronavirus disease

Civil Code …………Civil Code of the Empire of Ethiopia Proclamation No. 165 of 1960

Plc - ----------------------- private limited company

WHO - ------------------ World Health Organization

EOT- ---------------------- Extension of Time

COVID-19 ------------------ - coronavirus disease of 2019

GCC - --------------------general condition of contract

PPA - --------------------------public procurement agency

FIDIC - --------------- (Federation Internationale Des Ingenieurs Conseils)

- ---------------- international federation of consulting of engineers

PPE- ------------------------ personnel protective equipment

ETB - ------------------------ Ethiopian birr

GDP - ---------------------------- Gross domestic product

RB………………………………..Red Book

ii
 STATEMENT OF DECLARATION
I, Yasichalew Sefineh, have carried out independently a research project on the topic entitled
“Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Commercial Bank of Ethiopia Bahir Dar district
building Projects” with the guidance and support of the research advisor Solomon Chalie.

This study is my own work that has not been submitted for any other institutions.

Yasichalew Sefineh

Signature ______________________

Date ___06/02/2021_______

Advisor name: - Solomon. C

Sign ______________________

Gondar, Ethiopia

iii
 ABSTRACT

The main purpose of the study was to identify and evaluate the challenges encountered
through COVID-19 pandemic impacts on Commercial Bank of Ethiopia Bahir Dar district
building Projects /RAMA construction plc. In Ethiopia, although the construction industry is
booming, the practice of effective project delivery in time, cost, and quality remains a challenge.
Construction project success comes through the application of knowledge-based, critically
essential factors. The construction industry as the core of the nation’s economy is now facing the
headwind from the COVID-19 pandemic and cannot except isolated from its impact. Beyond
this, the unorganized and fragmented nature of the industry likely to exacerbate this effect.
COVID-19 is having a massive impact on construction projects, but the legal implications vary
from country to country and contract to contract. To better understand possible outcomes on
construction projects, this study reconnoiters the potential impact of COVID-19 on the industry.
In construction, the impact will be seen on temporary workers or daily laborers since
construction works specifically small and medium projects will face significant loss on demand;
hence, daily income will drop to zero for this segment. When we conclude it, scarcity and
increasing cost of construction materials, hard currency shortages, reduction productivity,
shortages of labors, delay of projects (extension of time), and Incurring additional cost are the
major impacts of COVID-19 on the construction industry.

Keywords: pandemics, COVID-19, construction industry, lockdowns, Force majeure

iv
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.............................................................................................................................................i
ABBREVIATIONS.......................................................................................................................................................ii
STATEMENT OF DECLARATION.........................................................................................................................iii
List of chart...................................................................................................................................................................vii
CHAPTER ONE...........................................................................................................................................................1
1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Background of the study...............................................................................................................................1
1.2 Scope of the project.......................................................................................................................................2
1.3 Limitation of study........................................................................................................................................2
1.4 Significance of the study...............................................................................................................................2
1.5 Statement of the problem..............................................................................................................................2
1.6 Objective of the study.................................................................................................................................3
1.6.1 General Objective.................................................................................................................................3
1.6.2 Specific objective.................................................................................................................................3
CHAPTER TWO..........................................................................................................................................................4
2 LITERATURE REVIEW....................................................................................................................................4
2.1 COVID-19 AND CONSTRUCTION CLAUSES IN FIDIC AND PPA....................................................5
2.2 Decide whether COVID-19 qualifies as a Force Majeure or not?.............................................................7
CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY..................................................................................................................9
3.1 Description of the study area........................................................................................................................9
3.2 Primary Data....................................................................................................................................................10
Questionnaire..........................................................................................................................................................10
Interviews................................................................................................................................................................10
Direct observation..................................................................................................................................................10
3.3 Secondary Data.................................................................................................................................................10
3.4 Population size..............................................................................................................................................12
CHAPTER FOUR.......................................................................................................................................................13
SYSTEM ANALYSIS, RESULT AND DISCUSSION.......................................................................................13
CHAPTER SIX...........................................................................................................................................................19
1.1 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION......................................................................................19
6.1.1 Conclusion..................................................................................................................................................19
6.1.2 Recommendation.......................................................................................................................................21
REFERENCE................................................................................................................................................................22

v
APPENDIX...................................................................................................................................................................23

List of Tables

Table 3, 1population size @CBE Bahir Dar district building project...........................................................12

vi
 List of chart
Chart 4. 1effect of covid-1.........................................................................................................................15
Chart 4. 2level of preventive usage...........................................................................................................16

vii
 CHAPTER ONE

1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
The sudden appearance of Coronavirus disease in 2019 was firstly reported in Wuhan city in
China, which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome. The disease is infectious and has
been spreading drastically all over the world and considered by the World Health Organization
(WHO) as a pandemic (WHO, 2020).

There Is Concern That Existing Situation Is Alarming. The 21 st century economies are
interconnected due to advancement in information and communication technology and global
value chains. In this chain, several actors can be identified: workers, firms, suppliers, consumers,
banks and financial intermediaries. In this web of interconnectedness, if there are disruptions in
any one of the links due to the disease or containment measures, the outcome could be a
cascading chain of disruptions both across the world and within countries. The COVID-19
pandemic has spread to the Ethiopian economy through multiple international and domestic
channels. The infection rate is increasing, and the death toll is rising. All regions are affected
with higher spread in the capital city, Addis Ababa.

Since the declaration of the COVID-19 outbreak in March the country with support from
partners continues its concerted efforts for readiness and response. In addition to previous
government measures to reduce movement and gatherings, a state of emergency was declared on
10 April, and it is hoped that this will further contribute to slowing down the transmission, while
taking cognizance of direct humanitarian and socioeconomic consequences expected.

For over ten months and still counting, the entire world came to a standstill with the outbreak of
an unprecedented pandemic-tagged COVID-19. This pandemic affected not only human health
but also the operational health of businesses and organizations, the construction industry
inclusive.

The long-lasting and wide-ranging impact of COVID-19 no doubt affected the world. With
virtually all the regions around the globe pulling to a standstill, throughout the spring period, the
government concentration as we are approaching the lockdown easing is on placing the economy
back on course. No doubt that this pandemic came with its impact and prospects as the evidence
above. Therefore, this research seeks to explore the impact and the effects of COVID-19
pandemic in the RAMA construction industry. Thus, the objectives include exploring the current
state of the industry, its periodic trend from March 2020 and readjustment of its workflows. The
study commences with a literature review followed by a collection of primary data through a
questionnaire survey, distributed to the commercial bank of Ethiopia Bahir Dar branch office and
training center project workers.

1.2 Scope of the project

The study area located at commercial bank of Ethiopia Bahir Dar branch office and training
center project under the Rama construction plc.

1.3 Limitation of study

1. One of the main limitations expected to encounter by the writer in the course of
conducting the research is, lack of related literatures that previously done in the study
area.
2. Due to shortage of time the data collection will be limited
3. Also financial problem obstruct the study and unavailability of internet access
4. As a result, the expected research Findings might not reflect the actual scenario of states
and further research might be needed.

1.4 Significance of the study

The research is expected to deliver the following contributions to Rama construction plc.

a) The study would provide formulated information for stakeholders about key challenges
that exist in commercial bank of Ethiopia Bahir Dar branch office and training center
project.
b) The study may help some researchers as resource for whom are interested to make further
research on similar subject matter.
c) For further improvement

1.5 Statement of the problem

Several studies have attempted to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and
industrial sectors. The reviews are not yet adequate due to the uncertainty of the current
situation. Of these studies, a study by Yasichalew.Sefineh.

Construction job is very complex and a risky business industry that contains many features; like
delay for long period of time, complicated process, financial intensity, environment and dynamic
organizational structure. The unique character of each project in construction works makes it
difficult to classify risks in a construction project, however risks in construction can be classify
in different categories, like physical, environmental, design, logistics, financial, legal, political,
construction and operation risks. Most of the risks are related with the contractors. Researchers
classified construction risks in different categories or different perspectives, but their further
and detail discussion falls out of the scope of this project.

The fact that the health and safety risks of COVID-19 vary from project to project. For example,
people who are working outside, and are not physically close to each other, maybe in a
better position to comply with the new health and safety precautions than people working in an
enclosed environment. In all cases, though, where work continues, health and safety risk
assessments need to be conducted, consistent with medical, scientific and government guidelines,
and contractors’ duty to provide a safe working environment. As a result, this paper amid
to assess the different conditions of contracts on the pandemic, impacts of the current corona
pandemic on the RAMA construction industry, and ways forwarding to the construction project
stakeholders during the pandemic.

Finally, this research paper asses how much the progress of work affected by COVID-19 and
locate directions or ways of options to minimize impacts of COVID-19 on construction of
building.

1.6 Objective of the study

1.6.1 General Objective
The general objective of this study is to identify and evaluate the the impact of COVID-19
pandemic in commercial bank of Ethiopia Bahir Dar branch office and training center project

1.6.2 Specific objective

Based on the general objective of the study and the research questions above, this study has
the following specific objectives.
 To find out the impact of coronavirus pandemic in commercial bank of Ethiopia Bahir
Dar branch office and training center project.
 To identify major challenges encountered due to the cause of COVID-19 pandemic at
commercial bank of Ethiopia Bahir Dar branch office and training center project
 To evaluate major challenges of construction practice that needs highest attention and
forward recommendation for further improvement.
 To asses construction laws with related to coronavirus epidemic impact on construction
 CHAPTER TWO

2 LITERATURE REVIEW
Companies across the world irrespective of their size-dependent input from abroad have started
experiencing a contraction in productions. Transport has been limited and even restricted among
countries has further slowdown of global economic activities. The world’s problem-solvers,
engineers worldwide are striving to rise to these challenges with increasingly innovative
solutions, aided by advances in technology, to provide short-term and longer-term responses.
COVID-19 is having material and global impact on the delivery of construction projects across
the world. Following the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) [2], and
FDRE Minister of Health, Containment Protocols for construction has been implemented to
provide maximum safety for construction workers, enforcing measures for adequate prevention
and control of the spread of the virus.

Some of the new restrictions that require construction to continue are

1. reducing work hours,

2. implementing shorter shifts,
3. increasing distances between workers,
4. disinfecting tools and equipment between shifts,
5. not having site visits, and
6. Having high-risk employees stay at home, among others.

The construction sector, the transport sector, and manufacturing are the more vulnerable to
economic shocks arising from the pandemic due to a significant drop in the global demand and a
high dependency on international markets, and services in urban areas affected by a shock in
local supply and demand. Construction will be heavily impacted by the crisis, as a direct impact
of the global demand shock. Depending on the restrictions, construction projects have seen
severe productivity impacts, or in most cases, the complete suspension of all construction
activities may occur if the pandemic increases. According to, Ethiopian GDP will be declined by
2.7% due to a decline in commodity prices could lead to fiscal pressures and it making it
impossible to respond to the COVID-19 crisis.

The impact of COVID-19 may vary from project to project, region to region, nation to nation,
and continent to continent. Due to deference in project types, project locations, project owners,
project duration and Complex, type of contract [3]. According to FDRE, Planning &
Development Commission, May 2020, report, COVID-19 will cause to increase in
unemployment rate about 9.8% at the national level and 20%, particularly in construction
industry unemployment.

Since the pandemic has happened around the globe, it will increase the Ethiopian foreign
currency shortage by 60 to 70% and it will reduce Construction Company’s ability to pay wages
and bank loans. That is why almost all Ethiopian governmental, corporate, and private financial
institutes’ state drelives of loan return period and interests. According to, capital projects such as
railway and road construction are expected to gain momentum again from 2022 once the election
is over. With industry growth estimated to contract at between 17% to 26% in light of the
COVID-19 pandemic, the construction sector is anticipated to witness a 9.9% contraction on its
contribution to Ethiopia’ s GDP as the country battles to contain the spread of the virus. Further,
a USD 23.3m decline in the income of workers is expected monthly as the country goes through
a state of emergency. The consequent aftermath of the pandemic expected is a decline in project
financing as lenders would be uneasy to finance construction projects because of the uncertainty
surrounding the completion of projects.

On the other hand, FDRE, Ministry of Urban Development and Construction, May 2020, report
stated that COVID-19 will cause reduction of productivity by 40%, the income of labor, material
suppliers, equipment rentals will be reduced by 2.6%, 18%, 4.4% respectively. In addition to that
contractor’s expenditure and the unemployment rate will be increased by 15.1% and 40%
respectively. As the well as GDP may be reduced by 40% [1].

2.1 COVID-19 AND CONSTRUCTION CLAUSES IN FIDIC AND PPA

On the contractual side, much focus is now being given to the wording of standard forms, where
used, such as international FIDIC and the local PPA conditions for more on this topic. The
Ethiopian construction industry is one of the industries which is severely affected not only by an
international and national lockdown but also by other unforeseen situations related to prevailing
conditions that may be related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most construction projects have
become under threat within a short period resulting in unforeseen delays, disruptions,
and additional costs, as caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the new FIDIC COVID-19
guidance memorandum to users of FIDIC standard forms of works contract which provide for an
entitlement to an Extension of the Time for Completion (EOT) in case of “Unforeseeable
shortages in the availability of personnel or Goods (or Employer-Supplied Materials, if any)
caused by an epidemic or governmental action”. According to Ethiopian civil code 1960 of
article 1793, a force majeure the unforeseeable act of a third party for whom the debtor is not
responsible for or an official prohibition preventing the performance of the contract or a natural
catastrophe[6]. On the other hand, clause 18.1 of PPA, GCC2011, state that force majeure means
any event which are beyond the responsibility of a contractor and which make a contractor’s
performance of its obligations hereunder impossible or so impractical as reasonable to be
considered impossible in the circumstances like an official prohibition preventing the
performance the contract or a natural catastrophe [7].

Emergency laws or decrees that are issued right now across the world in different jurisdictions
are likely to be treated as a change in laws, given the broad definition of laws provided in FIDIC
forms. Such changes in laws may impose specific COVID-19 health and safety measures on
construction activities (ongoing or on resumption) such as

a) social distancing,
b) the supply of face masks and sanitizers,
c) alternative arrangements for transportation,
d) facilities,
e) Working hours for staff and labor, etc.

Those changes may well be treated as a variation owing to the “adjustment to the execution of
the works” that they may cause, or to the “changed or new applicable standards” that they may
constitute. In the alternative, they may be treated as a claim event. In the construction contracts,
parties generally expressly state that time is the essence of the contract. A contractor should be
careful about such clause(s), as any breach would make the contract voidable at the cost and
consequence of the defaulting contractor. Alternatively, the contractor under the force of law
may be obligated to complete the project beyond the stipulated completion date and also pay
compensation for delay to the Employer. It is imperative that any delay beyond the stipulated
completion date, is condoned by the doctrine of force majeure can be applied in favors of the
contractor. It is imperative to evaluate if COVID-19 can be considered as a force majeure event
or can be invoked for the frustration of a contract [1].

2.2 Decide whether COVID-19 qualifies as a Force Majeure or not?

Force majeure is a contractual term giving refuge to a party to absolve from performing part of
the contractual obligations due to reasons beyond its control. Force Majeure or an Exceptional
Event as defined under clause 18.1 of FIDIC RB, it is an event or circumstance which is beyond
a party’s control, the party could not reasonably have provided against before entering into the
contract, having arisen, such Party could not reasonably have avoided or overcome and is no
substantially attributable to the other party. To decide whether COVID-19 qualifies as a Force
Majeure or an Exceptional Event (as the case may be), under this scenario, COVID-19 may fit
the bill of being a Force Majeure since it is a natural catastrophe which lies under clause 18.1(f)
of the FIDIC 2017 red book. Clause 18.2 of FIDIC RB, 2017 and Clause 18.5 of PPA,
GCC2011, stated that, if a party is or will be prevented from performing any obligations under
the contract due to an Exceptional Event, then the affected party shall give notice to the other
party of such an Exceptional Event, and shall specify the obligations, the performance of which
is or will be prevented given within 14 days after the affected party became aware. Beyond this,
clause 18.3 of FIDIC RB, 2017, stated that if the Exceptional Event has a continuing effect, the
affected party shall give further notices describing the effect every 28 days after giving the first
notice. Then the contractor shall be entitled subject to Sub-Clause 20.2 of FIDIC RB, 2017
which is claims for

1. payment and/or
2. EOT.

According to Clause 18.4 of FIDIC RB, 2017, if the execution of substantially all the works in
progress is prevented for a continuous period of 84 days because of an Exceptional Event of
which notice has been given under Sub-Clause 18.2 of FIDIC RB, 2017or for multiple period
which total more than 140 days due to the same Exceptional Event, then either party may give to
the other party a notice of termination of the Contract [5][7].

Clause 44.1 of GCC of the PPA 2011 states that, if during the execution of the works the
contractor encounters artificial obstructions or physical conditions which could not reasonably
have been foreseen by an experienced contractor, and if the contractor believes that additional
costs will be incurred and/or an extension of the period of implementation of the tasks will be
necessary as a result of this, he shall give notice to the Engineer following GCC Clauses 69
and/or 73. The contractor shall specify in such notice the artificial obstructions and/or physical
conditions, giving details of the anticipated effects thereof, the measures he is taking or intends
to take and the extent of the anticipated delay in or interference with the execution of the works.
And also, in clause 20.1 it said that the contractor shall, on the order of the Engineer, suspend the
progress of the works or any part thereof for such time or times and in such manner as the
Engineer may consider necessary. With regarding of extension of the intended completion date
of construction projects, Clause 73.1 of GCC of the PPA 2011 mentioned that the contractor may
request an extension of the intended completion date if he is or will be delayed in completing the
contract by either any suspension of the works which is not due to the contractor's default or
force majeure or any other causes referred to in this GCC which are not due to the contractor's
default causes.

Related with health and safety of workers in the construction site, clause 45.2 of GCC of the
PPA 2011 declares, the contractor shall ensure the safety on sites during the whole period of
execution and shall be responsible for taking the necessary steps, in the interests of his
employees, agents of the Public Body and third parties, to prevent any loss or accident which
may result from carrying out the works. In addition to clause 45.4, states if the Contractor is
unwilling or unable to undertake the necessary measures, the Engineer may carry out the work at
the expense of the Contractor to the extent that the contractor is liable [7]. Sub clause 8.5
(Extension of Time for Completion) of FIDIC RB, 2017 provides that, an extension of time is
warranted in the case of ‘Unforeseeable shortages in the availability of personnel or Goods
caused by an epidemic or governmental action’ [5]. This seems to provide a fairly clear
entitlement to an extension of time, but it does not provide entitlement to the payment of costs.
The matter of costs is dependent on the virus being a force majeure event. And, even if there is
consensus amongst the parties that a virus is a qualifying event, there is also another hurdle to
overcome. There are of course other considerations before a claim is justifiable. Generally, post
COVID-19, the construction industry could consider the introduction of new clauses in future
contracts to set out clear guidelines for action and relief in extreme eventualities, and to
minimize disputes that may arise at such a time [1].
 CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Description of the study area

Figure 3. 1map of the site

And the site is located in the left side of the safari mall.

This study adopted two methods to collect the data.

The first method was by conducting an exploratory interview with selected experts from the
construction industry sectors to share and express their insights and opinions on the current state
of the construction industry in the mid of pandemic freely.

Different methods of data collection were employed to gather information. These are:

3.2 Primary Data

Primary data for the study was gathered using questionnaires, interviews and observations from
the site

Questionnaire
Questionnaires were used as the main source of data collection. They were administered to the
site management/supervisory staff and the construction workers both skilled and unskilled. The
questionnaires were self-administered whereby they were hand delivered to the respondents to
complete the questionnaires themselves.

The questionnaire should be short, simple and unambiguous as possible to get highest rate of
response. To allow wider range of responses the survey format was designed to be simple to
complete, with many of the questions being of multiple choice, agree/disagree and yes/no

The responses were not instantaneous; respondents could answer freely when they had time and
were not afraid to express their honest views

Interviews
Interviews were used as one of the sources of collecting primary data. The interviews were held
with site personnel (both skilled and unskilled workers) to assist in explaining and clarifying any
information required

Direct observation
Direct observation was also used which involves work site visits to construction site were
performed to directly observe and document the identified hazards.
 3.3 Secondary Data
Secondary data was derived from published materials related to the study. Materials to be used
include textbooks, previous related literatures, internet (such as web searches with various
keywords) and PDF documents and so on.

The reviews of the related literature are the first step in obtaining information from previously
related studies. The literature reviews provide a theoretical background about safety management
that guided me to prepare the questionnaire

The second method is quantitative data.

s ta te m e n t o f th e p ro b le m

lite ra tu re rie v ie w

m e th o d o lo g y ,p o p u la tio n s iz e ,s a m p le

a n a ly s is

re s u lt& d is c u s s io n

c o n c lu s io n a n d re c o m m e n d a tio n

Figure 3. 2the process adopted to conduct the research

Figure 3 demonstrates the process adopted to conduct the research. The introductory part focused
on the literature to define and identify the scope, problem, and objectives of the study. The
second part involves the process of exploratory interviews with construction experts to determine
the impacts of the pandemic on the survival of the construction industry. The third phase is to
evaluate the impacts by involving construction practitioners using a questionnaire survey.
Descriptive analysis was used to rank the factor by the average importance index and standard
deviation.
Therefore, their inputs and opinions are significant in understanding the research issue. The
following consist of steps to carry out the analysis using a thematic approach
i. Getting Familiar with the Data: The first step is getting familiar with the data by reading the
data several times, and that helps to structure and identify the pertinent information.
ii. Categorizing the Data: In this step, the data are coded into different themes and coherent
categories to answer the main questions which are addressed in the interviews. Then the
data are categorized accordingly from general questions to more narrow issues. The data are
labelled and tabulated for each category.

iii. Searching for Themes: In this step, themes need to be defined to discuss them individually
based on the data collection explicitly. The main issues are established based on the
subtheme’s contexts.

iv. Interpretation and Reporting Results: In this step, the data are transformed into meaningful
sets of findings, and all categories emerge into a complete analysis of the issue.

3.4 Population size

NO Name of employee Number of employee

1 Office worker & engineers 25
2 Carpenter 18
3 Masons 4
4 Guards 19
5 Daily labors 60
6 Driver& operator 12
Total 138
Table 3, 1population size @CBE Bahir Dar district building project

Sample size
From the total population size out of 138 take five experts such as site engineer, office engineer,
general Forman, assistant electrician and residential engineer. And also interviews
 CHAPTER FOUR
SYSTEM ANALYSIS, RESULT AND DISCUSSION
A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions and other prompts for
the purpose of Gathering information from respondents. Although they are often designed for
statistical analysis of the responses, this is not always the case. When developing a questionnaire,
items or questions are generated that require the respondent to respond to a series of questions or
statements. Participant responses are then converted into numerical form and statistically
analyzed. These items must reliably operationalize the key concepts detailed within specific
research questions and must, in turn, be relevant and acceptable to the target group. There are a
range of scales and response styles that may be used when developing a questionnaire.

QUESTIONARIE QUESTIONS ANALYSIS

For question number 1 did COVID-19 affect your project? All of the respondent answers are yes

For question number 2 IF you answer yes in question number 1 in what rate reduce productivity
of the work? Out of five respondents 4 experts selected medium and the other select high from
this I understood the productivity of the work medium affected
For question number 3 in which way did COVID-19 affect your project? All of the five experts
answer partially stoppage for about two weeks stay @ home.
For question number 4 what is the current status of your project? Same as the above question all
respondents answer Work returned with disruptions and progress affected
Also for question number 5 if COVID-19 affected your project, what is the level of its impact on
your workflow? Three respondent answers moderate the other two respondent’s response severe
and minor
For question number 6 which of the following uncertainty due to covid-19 occur in your site?
Three experts answer as all uncertainties are occurred, one expert answer all except shortage of
labor, the other respondent answer as only delay of project and Scarcity and increasing cost of
construction materials
Finally from the question paper and interview the following analysis done.
 Analysis
No Effect of covid19 mea %
n
1.
2. Scarcity and increasing cost of 4.4 19.3
construction materials
3. Hard currency shortages 3.2 14.03
4. Delay of projects 3.2 14.03
5. Incurring additional cost 2.8 12.29
6. Shortages of labors 3.2 14.03
7. Reduction productivity 5 21.92
8. other 1. 4.38
Table 4. 1analysis

%
25

20

15

10

0
 %Scarcity
materials
and increasing cost of construction

Hard currency shortages

4% 19% Delay of projects
22%
Incurring additional cost
14%
14% Shortages of labors
12% 14%
Reduction productivity

other

Chart 4. 1effect of covid-1

activity Office Site Residentia General Assistant

engg. engg. l engg. forman elec
face 5 5 3 1 3
masks
sanitizers 5 4 3 2 2
social 5 4 4 1 0
distancing
stay at 4 2 1 5 0
home
PPE 5 5 3 5 1
Table 4. 2values of the resipondent

Each scale represents the following rating:

0=bad 1=good 2=very good 3=nice 4= great 5= excellent
Tick the No on the table below based on your personal degree of usage.
 No activity Mark
1. face masks 1 2 3 4 5
2. sanitizers 1 2 3 4 5
3. social distancing 1 2 3 4 5
4. stay at home 1 2 3 4 5
5. PPE 1 2 3 4 5
Table 4. 3preventive methods

personeel degree of usage

6

0
asis.electrician office engineer ste engineer residential engineer forman

facemask sanitizer social distance stay @ home PPE

Chart 4. 2level of preventive usage

After analyzing the interview and questionnaire paper, a few points are extracted from the
transcription, which includes the following:

i. The pandemic has entirely suspended the construction industry the work under this
situation lay based on difficulties in terms of the requirement for accelerated completion
of the project and the restriction of movement. Additionally, workers and technical
engineers are aware of the infectious disease and need to work with full consciousness
and scrutiny.
ii. For project participants who work off-site are required to be prepared with a complete list
of tasks, maintain constant communication with all subcontractors, establish daily video
 meetings, manage all the orders, constantly reviewing shop drawings, coordinate with all
the stakeholders for updates, and maintain proper communication with people onsite.
iii. The way the construction industry was managed has to be modified to suit contingency
time where it should accommodate all the needs to deal with all the sudden crisis.
iv. Construction planning and scheduling are likely to be significantly impacted during the
crisis. Hence, planners and schedulers should have backup plans in case of shut down.
v. There are many impacts of the sudden shut down of projects. It was evident from the
project status that over 90% stated that their projects were affected during this Pandemic.
About 51% of participants indicated that their projects were partially stopped due to the
COVID-19, while up to 40% of the participants experienced full stoppage. One of the
participants revealed that the projects were fully stopped at the initial stage and later
turned to partial. Interestingly other participants indicated no experience of stoppage
claiming that operation was restructured on a daily basis depending on the type of the
projects; a participant provided an insight claiming that the experience of both full
stoppage and partial stoppage.
 Generally, some of the possible areas of adverse impacts of COVID-19 on Commercial
Bank of Ethiopia Bahir Dar district building Projects are:
i. Labor shortages due to difficulties in mobilization in this case, temporary/daily laborers (that
constitute up to 90% of the jobs in this industry) are expected to lose their jobs relatively
quickly, and different levels of skilled works will be affected in the waves.
ii. Disruptions on the supply chain of construction resources due to difficulties in mobilizing
especially importing materials like cement, steel, aluminum, and their products. This due to
the major countries (China, Turkey, Japan, UAE, UK, USA, Italy, South Africa, India,) that
Ethiopia imports for the construction industry are now made lockdown due to this Noble
Corona Virus pandemic.
iii. Additional cost due to new Safety and Health requirements, foreign currency shortages, in
general, because of delivery delays.
iv. Delay or additional cost emanated from changes of the law restricting the activities.
v. Reduction in productivity is because of the social distancing of laborers and restrictions by
the government.
vi. Management becomes intensive because of unfamiliar roles &responsibilities introduced by
regulatory bodies and claim administration.
vii. Increase expenses due to additional cost for PPEs, and idleness of resources like equipment,
machinery, and tools, human resources
viii. Materials, plant or equipment are coming from China (or other affected countries) and
supply has been delayed
ix. Price escalations of a resource like the cost of cement were 210ETB before COVID-19 and
now its riches to 500ETBwhich is 239% of price escalation.
x. As the nation Reduction of new investments in the construction industry beyond this
COVID-19 causing thousands of new cases and fatalities as well as wide scale disruption and
fear, both societally and economically.

Owners and contractors are carefully analyzing whether they should terminate or suspend
projects or portions of projects. Virtually every contract and subcontract allow the upstream
party to suspend or terminate the project at any time for any reason, without a showing of
downstream default. The disputes center on who must pay for lost revenue (including overhead
and profit) and who bears the costs to demobilize and remobilize.

CHAPTER SIX
1.1CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
6.1.1 Conclusion
A novel coronavirus (CoV) named ‘2019-nCoV’ or ‘2019 novel coronavirus’ or ‘COVID-19’by
the World Health Organization (WHO) is in charge of the current outbreak of pneumonia that
began at the beginning of December 2019 near in Wuhan City,
Construction sites across the globe are slowly reopening after the forced lockdown due to the
Covid-19 pandemic. This article has investigated and assessed the consequences of pandemic
COVID-19 on the RAMA construction industry. It is statically proven that the most impacting
factors are the suspension of projects, Labor impact and job loss, time overrun, cost overrun,
and Financial impact.

From the interviews, it was highlighted that the economic impact is significant to all the project
stakeholders and the workforce. The project developers work hard to mitigate the impact by
reducing the number of workers on-site and encouraging offsite work to avoid and slow the
spread of the contagious virus. The contractors are also inevitable to face legal issues due to the
nonconformity of contractual terms which is caused by the suspension of the project and sudden
fluctuation of material price. These unforeseen impacts are indisputably perilous to maintain the
stream of the project progress. While, projects that are still running due to the urgent need to
expand medical facilities are also suitable to many challenges such as shortage of workers, the
rise of materials price, and Shortage of materials and supply chains.

The findings of this article are introductory to the construction industry stakeholders and
policymakers to understand the impact of the unforeseen and uncontrolled pandemic on the
construction. This will help to improve the plans to cope with any encountered circumstances.

The paper explored the experience of professionals in the construction industry as it relates to
COVID-19 through literature reviews and questionnaire survey. The primary data were elicited
from construction professionals, Engineers, Quantity Surveyors, Builders, Construction and
Project Managers. Construction industry will have to reevaluate the option of strict office work
as this pandemic has brought about the possibility of “working from home”. The eye-opener is
discovered as, not all construction work is office-based. It is evident that the world is diving
more and more digitally, hence professionals are expected to embrace innovative technology to
improve productivity. The need for more preparation towards the threat and opportunity posed
by risk is essential. The question now is, can there be a review of contingency? Should
construction projects

Be insured? Would there be a need for are view of the standard forms of contract? This study
discovered that COVID-19 significantly affected the procurement of the built asset and
construction industry at large, and this is as a result of the full and partial stoppage of works
majority decided by the authorities. The impact of the stoppage has quite outweighed the lessons
learnt during the lockdown imposed in various countries. The majority of players in the
construction industry were unable to benefit from various programs introduced by governments
during the peak of this Pandemic; as a result, some companies may likely go into a serious
difficulty that may lead to collapse or going out of business. Most firms have resumed work
around the world with moderately major disruption to the workflow and progress of work. The
lessons learned include several eye-opening events as a result of this disruption, ranging from the
deployment of various strategies to virtual working (using technology tools) where such can
work, and workspace management and additional design considerations. Likewise, planning with
unforeseen circumstances (including other contingency covering that), and the reduction of on-
site work through the use of prefabricated elements. The lockdown was never considered during
tendering for any construction works as such well-planned projects were equally affected by this
pandemic. Further study could expand to involve more participants so as to explore further
updates on the impact of COVID-19 in the construction industry from mid-2020 onward.
Another limitation is the shortage of literature to revert to in-depth for this particular study. This
is an unprecedented event which caught the entire world unaware and including the ardent
risk takers in the construction industry.

Figure 6. 1site notation

6.1.2 Recommendation
Stakeholders should reallocate budget and other resources to the industry. Ensure enough
reserves of PPE and specific equipment in the quantity& quality necessary and are accessible if
your office or supplier is locked down. Set restrictions of movement on the site for personnel
and visitors. Consider splitting teams in half to limit exposure to critical personnel resources
(Minimum staffing plan) split lunchtime in shifts to minimize the concentration of personnel in
designated lunch areas. Schedule assessment- subcontractors, and suppliers are experiencing
COVID-19 impacts, it is critical to perform a schedule assessment or time-impact analysis,
including examining the status of material procurement on your projects, to identify latent delays
in the schedule. Determine causation and attribute delay as appropriate.

Avoid confusion at the end of the project if and when projects shut down about what delays are
attributed to forced shutdowns versus delays that existed before the shutdown. Resource
planning-revisit resource plans across project stakeholders (owner, project manager, architect,
engineer, contractor, a subcontractor) and identify current key resources as well as those required
for the duration of the project. Obtain updated project organizational charts and track work
situations of resources on a regular business. Risk analysis-consider different scenarios for how
your projects may play out. Include market factors such as disruptions to the supply chain;
potential insolvency and bankruptcy of suppliers, vendors, subcontractors, and contractors; and
delays in obtaining permits. Assess the costs and benefits of project shutdowns versus
slowdowns. Prioritize responses and mitigation activities based on the probability and impact of
risks manifesting themselves. Revisit risk registers regularly and consider potential risks and
mitigation steps broadly. Labor management: the project shall be carried out per the applicable
requirements of ESS2, including through, inter alia, implementing adequate occupational health
and safety measures Strengthen contractual provisions: How do we continue to build and not get
distracted with litigations/disputes should be answered. Budget and cash flow: review budget
availability and contingency utilization, the financial impact of lockdown, outstanding and
anticipated delayed client payments, ad-hoc vendor/contractor mobilization, advance
requirements, enhanced costs of health, and safety norms should be done. “What we're trying to
do is reduce the amount of time people spend on site,” “This means that people can make
decisions on the project remotely – if they have got up to date and real-time information, they
can work remotely”.

REFERENCE
1. Assessment on Impact of Covid-19 on Ethiopian Construction Industry Abebe Demissew
Gashahun Lecturer Construction Technology and Management Academic Program, Debre
Marko’s Institute of Technology, Debre Markos University,
 2. World Health Organization(WHO)
3. An Introduction to COVID-19 Artificial Intelligence for Coronavirus Outbreak 1-22
Cite as Simon James Fong (1)Nyanja Dey (2) Jyotismita Chaki (3)
4. Ethiopian Health Data COVID19 Ethiopia
5. . FIDIC. Conditions of Contract for Construction Red Book.2017.
6. FDRE. Civil Code of Ethiopia. 1960.
7. PPA/ General Condition of Contract for Competitive Biddings. 2011.

APPENDIX
UNIVERSITY OF GONDAR

Institute of Technology

School of Architecture and Construction Technology and Management

Department of Construction Technology and Management

PROJECT TITLE: - IMPACTS OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
Thank you for your involvement in this questionnaire paper.
Instructions: Please carefully read each of the following statements and respond by ticking on the appropriate option which best suits
your opinion about COVID-19 IMPACTS you think are exist in Commercial bank of Ethiopia Bahir Dar branch office and training center
project.

1. Did COVID-19 affect your project?

2. IF you answer yes in what rate reduce productivity of the work?

a. high c. low
b. medium

3. In which way did COVID-19 affect your project?

a. Full stoppage c. Others

b. Partial stoppage

4. What is the current status of your project?

a. Work returned with disruptions and progress b. Work has not returned
affected c. Work returned without affecting our

5. If COVID-19 affected your project, what is the level of its impact on your workflow?

a. Severe d. Minor
b. Major e. Insignificant
c. Moderate

6. Which of the following uncertainty due to covid-19 occur in your site?

a. Scarcity and increasing cost of construction d. Incurring additional cost

materials e. Reduction productivity
b. Hard currency shortages f. Shortages of labors
c. Delay of projects g. All of the abov

7. Tick the No on the table below based on your personal degree of usage.

No activity mark
6. face masks 1 2 3 4 5

7. sanitizers 1 2 3 4 5

8. social distancing 1 2 3 4 5

9. stay at home 1 2 3 4 5

10. PPE 1 2 3 4 5

Each scale represents the following rating

(5) = Extremely Significant (4) = Very Significant (3) = Moderate Significant (2) = Slightly Significant (1) = Not Significant
 No Effect of covid19 1 2 3 4 5

1. Scarcity and increasing cost of construction materials

2. Hard currency shortages

3. Delay of projects

4. Incurring additional cost

5. Shortages of labors

6. Reduction productivity

7. other

GENERAL PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENT

1) Age of category:

Below 30▭ 30-40 ▭ >40▭

2) Sex:

a. Male▭ b. Female▭

3) Job Category:

Site engineer▭ Surveyor▭ Forman▭ project consultant▭ other▭

Manager▭…………..Daily labor▭

4) Educational status

Diploma▭ BSc▭ MSc▭ Others;

specify……………

5) Work Experience 0 – 5 years▭ 6 – 10 years▭ 11 – 15 years▭ More than 15

Thank you very much for your cooperation!

Yasichalew Sefineh

Email address [email protected]

Sign