A Comprehensive Examination of Cost Overruns in Road Construction Projects in the Sultanate of Oman

Project completion on schedule and within budget is always an accomplishment. Several building projects overspent their budgets. Cost overruns in road-building projects are common despite their detrimental impact on the construction sector. This report examines global cost overruns, finds local reasons, assesses and analyses them by relevance, and recommends practical mitigation strategies for top construction parties in Oman, including "clients," "consultants," and "contractors." A comprehensive literature review and local road practitioners helped identify 52 reasons. These theories were explored using a cross-sectional questionnaire given to 85 road specialists, who prioritized the factors by local cost overrun significance. The study found that the top five issues in Oman include contractors not being paid on time, incomplete design at bidding, design defects, cost miscalculation, and financial problems. This survey also found substantial agreement among project partners on the most important causes. SPSS 24.0 and MS Excel were used to examine quantitative data in four phases utilizing the relative significance index, mean value, chi-square test, and bivariate analysis. The pioneering character of this research will benefit road construction management. society because it provides a good starting point for local academics, identifies local road construction management deficiencies, and offers practical mitigation methods to avoid cost overruns. The results imply that project parties must enhance planning, budgeting, engineering design, terrain analysis, and compliance with new rules by using technology effectively.