# Building Information Modeling Impact on Cost Overrun Risk Factors and Interrelationships
## 2 Literature Review  
### Cost Overruns in Saudi Arabia's Construction Projects  
The Economic Co-operation and Development Organization reported that Saudi's economy was predicted to grow at the highest rate among G-20 nations in the year 2022 and the following year 2023 [10]. Trading Economics (2022) reported that Saudi's gross domestic product (GDP) would increase from 7 billion USD in the second quarter of 2022 to 8 billion USD in the third quarter [10]. However, the Saudi construction industry still experiences budget exceedance and delays in construction projects for various reasons. This has negatively affected the development and performance of construction companies in Saudi. To improve this industry performance, in-depth studies since 1995 have revealed factors that contributed to a negative image for the Saudi construction industry [11; 12; 13]. Notably, several studies have investigated the reasons underlying project delays [11; 13], while others have examined the causes of cost overruns (e.g., [9]), with some studies examining both (e.g., [PERSON] et al. [14]). For example, a study by [PERSON] et al. [15] uncovered the leading causes of construction delays in Saudi from the contractors' perspective. Causes include delayed payments, underestimated project costs, legal issues, poor communication among project participants, underestimated project completion times, and delayed instructions received due to lack of supervision, owners and consultants. Another study by the same author discovered that approximately 70% of all public sector building projects had been delayed for several reasons [11]. [PERSON] and [PERSON]'s study [13] identified the five most common causes of delays, all related to contractors, ranked in the following order: insufficient skilled labor, lack of labor, delayed material delivery, supply shortage, and lack of project planning and coordination. [PERSON] [9] surveyed forty-three contractors to determine risk factors associated with cost overruns and their importance to contractors. According to the results, the leading causes of building project cost overruns are the selection of the lowest bidders, numerous design changes, inadequate planning, long delays between design and execution phases, and payment delays. In addition, concerning University Campus construction projects (UCP), [PERSON] et al. [16] found that delays ranged from 50% to 150% for (UCP), and 99% of (UCP) exceeded expected costs. Likewise, [PERSON] et al. [17] surveyed Makkah's construction projects with 100 experts, revealing ten leading causes of delays. These factors include financial problems caused by contractors, lack of coordination among project stakeholders, shortage of labor, design document production delays, ineffective scheduling and planning, payment delays, low levels of labor productivity, lack of communication among project parties, inexperienced labor, and lack of contract management. Here, former risk factors associated with project delays resulted in additional expenses. To recognize the significant factors that contribute to cost overruns, a quantitative study by [PERSON] et al. [14] aimed to identify and investigate critical risk factors that affect construction projects' cost overruns. Based on a comprehensive literature review, 83 risk factors were identified and classified into nine categories. Survey findings revealed the top ten risk factors. These factors are each ranked respectively as follows: (1) contractor financial issues, (2) payment delays, (3) awarding contracts to the lowest bidder, (4) changing orders during construction, (5) inadequate project scheduling and planning by contractor, (6) lack of workforce, (7) lack of construction site supervision and management by contractor, (8) lack of skilled contractors, (9) delays in subcontractor or supplier work, and (10) lack of experienced workers.