[en] Delays are the most common event that influence the time performance and increase the cost of projects. This paper analyze causes of various delays experienced by three large construction projects in public sector and subsequently to recommend the corrective actions necessitated to safeguard future construction projects from suffering these delays, which result in enormous cost and time over-runs, undermining projects economic viability. The case-study approach has been employed as research method, to analyze construction delays, followed by categorizing them in view of their source. The method employed to collect data included interviews, questionnaire surveys, and analysis of project documents including monthly progress reports, minutes of meeting, and details of correspondence held between the project participants. The data collected was minutely analyzed to identify different delays, and their underlying causes encountered during execution of projects. The analysis reveals serious lapses on part of projects planners, for their failure to take care of the inevitable contingencies (unexpected situations), while conceptualizing projects by resorting to proactive planning at the very outset, incorporating adequate buffers in the projects budgeted costs, and timeframes, to ensure projects economic viability in any eventuality. The failure of owners to establish key performance indicators, followed by their inability in tracking down the indicators, worsened the situation, resulting in projects execution lagging far behind original schedules of construction activities with their estimated costs. (author)