Assessing the Impacts of COVID-19 on Nepal's Construction Industry: Insights from Principal Component Analysis

Abstract

This study assesses the impacts of COVID-19 in Nepal's construction industry. A total of 387 responses were examined by Principal Component Analysis (PCA) technique with the help of SPSS software. PCA analysis identified five major components, which together accounted for 62.022% of the variation. The most important impact component observed was time and cost overruns, which accounted for 27.342% of the variation and had an eigenvalue of 5.742 with delay in completion of projects as the major indicator with coefficient 0.794. Likewise, the second major impact component was financial restrictions, accounted for 14.267% of the variation and had an eigenvalue of 2.996 with deterioration of financial condition of contractor due to loss in projects as the major indicator with coefficient 0.731. Based on these findings, it is advised deployment of cutting-edge technology, early purchasing of materials and following strict cost control measures would assist to prevent the impacts of COVID-19 on the construction industry.