Construction cost map of European countries

Abstract

In the globalized business world, construction companies start to seek new opportunities to invest on an international basis in order to gain profit. Therefore, construction companies have to conduct not only national projects but also international projects to be competitive. However, although these international projects can be profitable, the construction companies face many challenges in the management of these projects due to the country-specific problems and conditions. This can lead to variation in the management of similar projects conducted in different countries. In particular, cost estimation in different countries is a challenging task for construction companies. Therefore, in order to provide insights about construction cost in different countries, different organizations publish construction cost indices. However, some criticisms related to the reliability and usability of these indices are stated. In this study, a new concept, called a cost map, is proposed by developing a framework based on twelve macro level parameters. The cost map is applied to 37 European countries. The data related to these parameters are collected using different databases. European countries are clustered by using a self-organizing map. As a result of this study, the cost map is determined as a reliable and convenient tool for a cost comparison.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Cenk Budayan

Cenk Budayan received PhD degree in civil engineering from Middle East Technical University. He is an Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering Department, Construction Management division in the Civil Engineering Department of Yildiz Technical University. His current interests include project management in construction projects, time management in construction projects, engineering economy, and public-private partnership projects and data analysis in construction projects.

Irem Dikmen

Irem Dikmen received PhD degree in Civil Engineering from Middle East Technical University. She is a Professor in the Construction Engineering Management Division of Civil Engineering Department at the Middle East Technical University. Her current research interests include construction project management, mainly risk management. She combines risk-related concepts from engineering, decision and organizational sciences to conceptualize and model risk in projects. She gives consultancy and training services to companies about project management and often acts as a member of Dispute Adjudication Boards in large-scale construction projects.

M. Talat Birgonul

M. Talat Birgonul received PhD degree in Civil Engineering from Middle East Technical University. He serves as the Head of Construction Engineering and Management Division of the Civil Engineering Department in the Middle East Technical University. With forty years of academic experience, he is the author/co-author of 70 articles published in leading academic journals, 9 chapters in international books and more than 140 national/international conference papers. His current interests include engineering economy, international construction, construction planning, macroeconomic aspects of the construction industry and claim management.