Identification of Modern Cost Reduction Techniques for Construction Projects in Sri Lanka

Cost is a basic criterion that measures the success of a construction project. Projects rarely meet the pre-estimated budget. There are many techniques available in current practices to control the cost of a project. However, there is still poor cost performance in the construction industry. Thus, this paper aims to identify the modern cost reduction techniques for construction projects in Sri Lanka. The data collection was conducted through a detailed questionnaire survey and interviews. The respondents are industry professionals and the response rate was 88%. The industry experts suggested a broad range of solutions based on their experience regarding the cost of a project. The Effectiveness Index analysis and content analysis were used to analyze the collected data. The findings are expected to bridge the gap in the current cost control practices by implementing modern techniques which are found as selecting appropriate value management approaches, implementing modern construction technologies, risk management, and sustainable construction. It was recommended to have construction risk assessments, continuous training programs on project cost control, and introduce a course module regarding modern cost reduction techniques at the academic level. While this research focused on the cost control of private sector projects, research can be extended to validate the conclusion of this study considering the public sector projects and categorise the modern techniques to reduce the time overruns in construction projects in the future