The article examines risk management approaches and construction project performance in the National Construction Industry Council of Malawi (NCIC). Established in 1996, NCIC is a mother body in the construction industry, which has over 994 construction companies registered (NCIC Directory 2019). In line with contingency theory our research looked at the risks from internal and external perspective. Guided by a conceptual framework the research was led by a concept that presents an interaction between independent variables (risk management approaches) and intervening variables influencing construction project performance. A mixed research design was adopted in data gathering using structured interview and questionnaire to a sample of 46 construction companies where a response rate of 76% was obtained. Findings showed that due to complexity of risk appraisal in financial, contractual, health and safety approaches, most small scale contractors keep lagging behind project delivery leading to service delay to the public, less contribution to the GDP of Malawi with about 7.3%, and also causing physical harm to construction workers to a certain extend. We concluded that risk management approaches implemented in NCIC were effective, however it is the cost of these approaches that causes companies not to adhere to the set quality assurance principles and guidelines. The study recommends that SMC should contract experienced consultants to map out appropriate cost effective strategies that could be applied by all the stakeholders in the industry. For further studies, research could be done on factors that affects adherence to risk management approaches in the construction sector in the Country.

Key Terms: Malawi, Risk, Management, Approaches, Construction, Project, Performance