Abandoned housing projects pose significant challenges to urban development, economic stability and social well-being. The persistence highlights the need to align recovery strategies with the specific difficulties that impede recovery efforts. This study aims to investigate the interrelationships between the critical difficulties and strategies for restarting construction in abandoned housing projects.

A quantitative research strategy was employed, using a questionnaire survey. A list of 29 difficulties and 15 strategies was developed through a systematic literature review (SLR) and semi-structured interviews with rescue contractors. Data collected from 111 construction industry professionals were analyzed using normalized mean analysis (NMA), exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

This study identified 16 critical difficulties and eleven critical strategies. The critical difficulties formed three constructs (technical and construction, procedural and management and financial and institutional issues), while the critical strategies formed two: structural remediation and project protocol and governance and standards. The structural model revealed that governance and standards significantly affect all three difficulty constructs, whereas structural remediation and project protocol significantly affect only technical and construction issues.

This study offers a novel contribution by empirically modeling the interrelationships between difficulties and strategies of restarting the construction of abandoned housing projects. The findings provide insights for policymakers and construction industry practitioners to develop frameworks for restarting abandoned housing projects, thereby enhancing project recovery outcomes.