STAGES IN CONSTRUCTION

PROJECTS.
There are various stages in construction projects as
follows:
1. INCEPTION OR INITIATION STAGE.
This is the first stage in projects whereby the idea is initiated by the client. There
are two activities that take place at this point
which are:
i. Briefing Stage
This is also called the Report Stage' since ideas originated by individuals are
studied with regard to cost and benefits so as to establish the economic viability or
social utility of a project.
The purpose of this stage is to enable the client (owner) to specify project
functions and permissible costs so that architects, Quantity Surveyors, Engineers
and other members of the construction team can correctly interpret the owner's
wishes and provide a likely estimate of costs.
ii. Feasibility Studies
This is a study undertaken to analyze the viability of a project to determine
whether it isworth being undertaken and is likely to succeed. It is the assessment
of the practicability of the project.
Methods of Carrying out Feasibility Studies
a. Cost Benefit Analysis
This is where an investor identifies all possible costs and benefits associated with
an intended project and then calculates or justifies the existence of each. It may
not be possible to cost all the cost items and even to quantify the possible benefits
if possible to narrow down to a few notable items depending on which of the two
whose cost and benefit is higher; a decision is made whether to invest or not.

This method is based on the principle of demand and supply and every investor
has to be convinced of the cost and benefit at the end of the project. The
investment should make the investor better off by earning more benefits than the
cost incurred.

The decision rule is such that if the benefits expected are in excess and can
compensate the investor and still allow him to earn a reasonable profit, then the
project is viable. If the reverse occurs, the project will not be chosen.

In practice, there are difficulties in this method simply because the behavior in the
long and short run will be complicated. Some projects will appear with little
benefit but later turn out to be beneficial. Other projects may out rightly give
positive benefits on the outset only to lead to losses in the long run.
1
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8
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