FROM LAND ACQUISITION RISK TO PROJECT SUCCESS: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF COMMUNITY CONSENT AND GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM EFFECTIVENESS IN UGANDAS LINEAR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

Large linear infrastructure projects in developing economies often experience delays, compensation disputes, community resistance and weak grievance handling. Although land acquisition has traditionally been treated as a technical and legal process, this study argues that land acquisition risk affects project success through social legitimacy mechanisms. The study examined the effects of land acquisition risk on community consent, grievance redress mechanism effectiveness and project success in Uganda’s linear infrastructure projects. Using a quantitative dataset of 400 respondents and structural equation modelling, the study assessed the measurement model, construct reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, structural paths and mediation effects. Two negatively oriented indicators, LA6 and GR11, were reverse coded during data cleaning. The measurement model demonstrated strong reliability and validity, with Cronbachs alpha values ranging from 0.925 to 0.951, composite reliability values ranging from 0.936 to 0.957 and AVE values ranging from 0.571 to 0.671.