AIR POLLUTION FROM PUBLIC ROAD CONSTRUCTION: AN ANALYSIS OF SYSTEMIC GAPS AND PATHWAYS TO SUSTAINABILITY

Abstract

Public road construction, an essential infrastructure building, is ironically a major contributor to air pollution, particularly from fine particulate matter (PM2.5), causing serious health impacts. This issue arises not only from technical limitations but also from systemic inadequacies in the regulatory management of contractual arrangements between the public sector and private contractors. This study uses a Systematic Documentary Analysis based on Principal–Agent Theory to examine contractual relations and governance mechanisms between the State, as Principal, and contractors, as Agents. It systematically analyzes data collected from scholarly literature, government agency reports, and international organizational publications covering the period 2015–2025. The results highlight structural weaknesses that lead to the deterioration of environmental measures to symbolic compliance. Although contracts often specify pollution-control provisions, weak oversight, information asymmetry, and incentive structures that prioritize speed and low cost undermine contractors’ motivation to rigorously implement mitigation measures. Consequently, pollution control becomes ineffective and is reduced to an empty or ritualistic act, rather than providing real environmental benefit. The main issue addressed in this research is how contracting and supervision mechanisms inadvertently enable symbolic or superficial environmental protection due to systemic failures. In light of these findings, this article recommends transforming public procurement through performance-based contracts anchored in environmental performance rather than the lowest-price approach. These contracts should include well-defined and measurable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), such as PM2.5 concentration levels on construction sites, with a balanced mix of penalties and incentives. This reconfiguration aims to shift contractor behavior toward long-term public health and environmental goals and to promote more sustainable environmental governance in the coming decades.