Procurement management in the foreign-funded construction projects implemented in Sri Lanka

The most salient issue faced in foreign funded (FF) projects is the project delays arising from procurement issues. Addressing these issues and finding strategies to overcome them will be helpful to FF project stakeholders. In this study, an extensive literature synthesis was conducted to identify the nature and significance of FF project procurement. The study adopted a qualitative approach consisting of a two-round Delphi survey, which included semi-structured interviews. The interviewees were selected through non-probability sampling. The collected data were analyzed using manual content analysis. The results revealed 16 key procurement issues, which included government bureaucracy, delays in hiring key personnel, regular movements/transfer of core project officials, unstable political conditions of the host country, and the complexity of the loan payment processes. FF project stakeholders can study the findings and revisit their existing procurement practices to reap benefits by adopting the strategies proposed in the study to overcome the procurement issues they face.