Critical Success Factors Influencing the Performance of Infrastructure Projects in The Aviation Industry in Kenya; A Case of Moi International Airport

Purpose: Aviation sector in Kenya facilitates both international and domestic trade, promotes tourism and foreign investment thus contributing to government revenue and employment opportunities. Therefore, improving airport infrastructure would help reduce travel time, improve connectivity. The high rates of project failure have become a major concern for stakeholders hence the need to identify key factors that promote project success or failure. This study seeks to assess the critical success factor influencing the performance of construction projects in Kenya.Methodology: The study adopted quantitative method to examine critical success factors for the performance of aviation construction projects in Kenya. Descriptive case study research design was adopted and self –administered questionnaires were used to collect quantitative for analysis.  The variables of interest include timely financing project activities, competency of contractors, participation of stakeholders, and management skills. Descriptive analysis and inferential tests were conducted with the aid of IBM SPSS version 23 software.Results: The study found that timely financing, contractor competency, stakeholder participation, and management skills have positive and significant influence on the performance of aviation construction projects. Descriptive results suggest that tractors competency, timely financing, management skills, and stakeholders’ participation have a strong positive influence on project performance. The study has also established a significant contribution of contractor competency to the successful performance of aviation construction projects. It was also noted that participation of key stakeholders in projects identification, decision making, and resource mobilization can enhance the success of aviation construction projects. It was observed that these factors account for over 54.9% of changes in project performance.Unique contribution to theory, policy and practice: In light of these results, the study recommends industry players to put measures in place that would allow timely provisions of finance for all project activities. It is also important to source for competent and experienced contractors, engage key stakeholders in decision making about the project, and recruit a competent and skilled project manager. The study results have a significant contribution to practitioners in the aviation construction sector in Kenya. The study provides the practitioner with the most critical variables likely to influence the performance of aviation construction projects. It further acknowledges that external factors also influence the success of these projects. In light of this, the practitioners can institute contingency plans to mitigate the risks to ensure successful completion of their projects. To the academic, the current study has filled literature gap on critical success factors for aviation project performance. Given the upcoming mega project in aviation sector around the world, these factors provide the basis for future research in this area to ensure these projects are executed successfully within budget and schedule