The outbreak of COVID-19 has impacted construction markets worldwide due to supply chain disruptions, workforce restrictions, and legislative changes. However, construction markets in developing countries are perceived to be more vulnerable to the challenges associated with the pandemic. As such, the goal of this paper is to capture the impact of COVID-19 on construction projects in developing countries by considering the case of the Iraqi construction sector. A multistep research methodology was adopted by the authors, including (1) literature analysis and semistructured interviews with 40 industry experts to identify a comprehensive list of construction themes and factors affected by the pandemic; (2) survey data collection from 388 industry professionals to quantify the significance and influence of each identified factor; (3) Cronbach’s alpha test to check the reliability of the survey; (4) fuzzy inference system to assess the impact of the pandemic on each construction theme and factor; and (5) Mann-Whitney U-test to examine the perceived impact by the public and private sectors. Results show that the pandemic has impacted a total of 16 construction factors grouped under four construction themes, including contractual implications, construction financial market, and supply chain operations, as well as safety and risk management, where the latter is the most impacted theme. The factors impacted the most by the pandemic are safety management measures, interpretation of the contract language, building materials prices, risk management practices, construction materials, construction labor, and construction subcontractors. Also, the findings of the fuzzy model show significant difference in the captured impact of the pandemic between the public and private sectors. This research contributes to the body of knowledge by providing a foothold foundation for researchers and decision makers to enhance investigating the effect of the pandemic with its deep uncertainties in relation to developing countries.

To maximize the benefits without sacrificing the functionality of projects, sustainability concepts should be used across all stages of the decision-making process when creating residential buildings. The primary sustainable aims may be improved with BIM activities. However, in the building sector of underdeveloped nations, BIM activities use informal methods. By examining the connection between overcoming BIM implementation challenges and the overall sustainable success (OSS) in building projects, this research seeks to establish a model for BIM implementation. Following the BIM hurdles identified in earlier research, 86 building stakeholders in the Egyptian building sector were given questionnaires. The structure of the obstacles was established and confirmed using partial least-squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), and the connections between the OSS and overcoming BIM deployment were investigated. The adoption of BIM contributed 40.7% to the project’s long-term sustainability, according to the data, which demonstrated a strong link. The findings of this research will serve as a roadmap for decision-makers who want to use BIM in developing nations’ building sectors to save costs and increase sustainability.

Purpose: This research aims to systematically review studies on significant risks for Critical Infrastructure Projects (CIPs) from selected top-tier academic journals from 2011 to 2023.Design/methodology/approach: In this research, a three-step systematic literature review methodology was employed to analyse 55 selected articles on Critical Infrastructure Risks (CIRs) from well-regarded and relevant academic journals published from 2011 to 2023.Findings: The findings highlight a growing research focus on CIRs from 2011 to 2023. A total of 128 risks were identified and grouped into ten distinct categories: construction, cultural, environmental, financial, legal, management, market, political, safety and technical risks. In addition, literature reviews combined with questionnaire surveys were more frequently used to identify CIRs than any other method. Moreover, oil and gas projects were the subjects most often explored in the reviewed papers. Furthermore, it was observed that publications from Iran, the USA and China dominated CIRs research, making significant contributions, accounting for 49.65% of the analysed articles.Research limitations/implications: This research specifically focuses on five types of CIPs (i.e. roadways, bridges, water supply systems, dams and oil and gas projects). Other CIPs like cyber-physical systems or electric power systems, were not considered in this research.Practical implications: Governments and contracting firms can benefit from the findings of this study by understanding the significant risks associated with the execution of CIPs, irrespective of the nation, industry or type of project. The results of this investigation can offer construction professionals valuable insights to formulate and implement risk response plans in the early stages of a project.Originality/value: As a novel literature review related to CIRs, it lays the groundwork for future research and deepens the understanding of the multi-faceted effects of these risks, as well as sets practical response strategies.