Effect of Contractor Competency on the Quality of the Musanze Modern Market Renovation Project, Rwanda

Contractor competency is an important consideration in infrastructure quality. This study examined the associations of personnel’s technical skills, project management experience and compliance with construction standards with the quality of the Musanze Modern Market renovation project, implemented by Hugo Engineering Durability Company Ltd in Rwanda. Project quality encompassed structural integrity, timely completion and user satisfaction. Guided by the Resource-Based View, Contingency Theory and Total Quality Management, the study adopted a descriptive correlational design supplemented by interviews, observations and documentary review. A census targeted 135 stakeholders, of whom 127 returned completed questionnaires, yielding a 94.1% response rate. The four focal scales had reported Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging from .852 to .891. Quantitative analysis used descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and multiple regression in SPSS, while interviews were analysed thematically. Reported bivariate associations with project quality were positive for technical skills (r = .814), project management experience (r = .779) and standards compliance (r = .742). However, inconsistencies between the correlation and regression tables prevented definitive interpretation of adjusted relationships, explained variance and hypothesis decisions. Respondents generally assessed structural integrity, functionality and user satisfaction favourably, while timely completion required improvement. The study recommends strengthening technical training, assessing contractors’ management experience and maintaining systematic inspections and quality-assurance records. Its single-case, cross-sectional design limits generalisability and causal inference.