A review of risk management techniques and challenges in harbour and port expansions

The paper reviewed risk management techniques and its challenges during implementation in infrastructure projects with a focus on harbour and seaport construction projects. Literature indicates that beyond year 2020, eighty percent of world trade which is conducted through seaports will require additional facilities. This need could potentially be met through rehabilitation of existing ports and development of new terminals. Globally, there is a high rate of project delays and failure due to unsuccessful risk management and implementation. The research was conducted through a systematic literature review of journal articles on risk management techniques and their implementation limitations. The research found that the most employed risk management techniques were enterprise and construction risk management systems, major infrastructure assessment frameworks, dynamic risk management, analytical hierarchy based techniques and the innovative risk management implementation approach. Impediments in implementation of risk management plans were found to be political influence, technical complications, environmental constraints and lack of adequately skilled personnel. This study could benefit risk managers in developing effective risk management frameworks.