International Journal of Scientific Engineering and Science Volume 6, Issue 10, pp. 50-55, 2022. ISSN (Online): 2456-7361 50 http://ijses.com/ All rights reserved Assessment of Procurement Methods for Road Construction Projects in Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria Daniel Ikoibaha Udoette 1 , Chukwuemeka Ngwu 2 , Daniel Onyekachi Kanu 3 , Nathan N. Agu 4 , Raymond Chike Enenmoh 5 1 Physical Planning Unit AkwaI-bom State University of Nigeria 2 Department of Quantity Surveying, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Anambra State of Nigeria 3 Department of Quantity Surveying, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Anambra State of Nigeria 4 Department of Quantity Surveying, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State of Nigeria 5 Department of Quantity Surveying, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State of Nigeria 1 Ikobahaudoetted17@gmail.com, 2 C.Ngwu@unizik.edu.ng, 3 Do.Kanu@unizik.edu.ng, 4 NN.Agu@unizik.edu.ng, 5 RC.Enenmoh@unizik.edu.ng Abstract— selecting an appropriate procurement strategy is crucial to the successful completion of the project because it establishes the general model and structure of the obligations of the project participants in a contract. However, road infrastructure projects in Akwa-Ibom encounter numerous difficulties and complex performance challenges that are primarily caused by a specific procurement approach rather than the project's requirements and evaluation. This study assessed the commonly adopted procurement methods in the construction of road projects in Akwa-Ibom state and the factors affecting the selection of a procurement strategy in the construction of road projects. An extensive literature review of procurement systems was conducted. The study adopted a descriptive survey design and data were collected using a questionnaire from 150 purposively respondents from ministries, agencies, and institutions saddled with the procurement responsibilities within the state. Data were analyzed descriptively using mean and the factors were ranked according to their relative importance index (RII). The result from the study revealed that traditional and design and build procurement systems are the most used procurement option for new road construction and outsourcing system for the maintenance of existing roads. Project completion within the stipulated time, quality of work, technical complexity/competency of the contractor, and others were revealed to be the influencing factors for the choice of a procurement system. The study recommends that government procuring units should give proper consideration to project requirements and need peculiarities in choosing the best procurement strategy to be deployed as no single procurement strategy is the best. Keywords— Road construction, procurement, procurement system. I. INTRODUCTION In the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) sector, procurement methods offer a way to bring together different service providers (construction actors) for the procurement and construction of infrastructure projects like roads and bridges, to name a few. They also allow for the identification and satisfaction of clients' top priorities. Making the appropriate choice of procurement system at the inception would immediately and significantly increase the likelihood of successful project delivery with the satisfaction of all parties and stakeholders concerned. Studies in the literature have reported cases of poor project performance as a result of the choice of procurement methods. The choice of procurement system for infrastructural projects should eliminate problems like schedule delay, shoddy workmanship, cost overrun, conflicts and disputes, outright abandonment of projects, and systematic corruption in infrastructure construction procurement most especially road projects in Nigeria. These problems have been further aggravated by (Odeck, 2004; Cantarelli, van Wee, Molin, and Flyvbjerg, 2012); (Lo, Fung, and Tung, 2006; Doan and Menyah, 2013). Many efforts and works have been done to improve the performance of infrastructural projects, however, still face a similar problem. Design and build procurement method; a method where design and construction services are packaged together has become an alternative procurement system that is widely adopted to overcome most problems rendered by traditional procurement systems (wan Ismail, 2000; Adnan, Bachik, Supardi, and Mariani, 2012; Adnan, Jusoff and Salim, 2008). One of the aspects to put more into addressing this problem is the adoption of correct or appropriate procurement methods for infrastructural projects. This idea is not new and has been heightened by practitioners in decades age for instance Hazmi and Mc Caffer (2000); Ambrose and Tucker (1999); Rajeh, Tookey, and Rotimi (2015) argued that the adoption of an appropriate procurement system is the most important driver that leads to better construction project performance and has the higher possibility of eliminating the prevalent problem. Al- Hazmi and Mc Caffer (2000) for a project to be successful, the procurement method must address the technicality of the project alongside the client‘s needs. To do this effectively, according to the Cooperative Research Centre for Construction Innovation (2008), prior to selecting a procurement method, clients and their advisors must comprehend the characteristics of various procurement systems and selection methods It is based on this theoretical understanding that this study has decided to fill the gap in the literature by assessing procurement methods for road infrastructural projects being adopted by procuring entities in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria with interest in their adoption of various procurement methods available and factors consider being crucial in choosing a procurement method.