The department started as a Unit in 1995 with a Director and two Deputy Directors. The unit had five support staff in the fields of statistics, economic and information technology.

The Ministry of Works & Supply was restructured in 1998 and the Unit became a department with a Director  and two Assistant Directors in charge of Economic and Technical Sections respectively.

In 2006, the Department was assigned more duties and the number of Assistant Directors increased from two to three. The third Assistant Director deals with Parliamentary affairs, Cabinet and Gender issues.

The Department is responsible for reviewing and developing appropriate policy and legal framework in order to facilitate effective private sector participation in the construction and maintenance of public infrastructure. The Department is also responsible for coordinating planning and monitoring the implementation of programmes and projects in order to ensure their effective implementation. Further, the Department is responsible for establishing and maintaining a comprehensive Information Management System (IMS) on the operations of the ministry in order to enhance decision making and information provision to end-users. The department spearheaded the development of the National Policy on the Construction Industry and the establishment of the National Council for Construction (NCC). 

The Department shall endeavour to undertake the following based on the Ministry’s Strategic Plan:

• Spearheading the development and implementation of mechanisms for the development and review of pieces of legislation as well as monitoring the implementation of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) thereby promoting Public–Private Partnerships (PPP) in the construction and maintenance of public infrastructure. This will call for the establishment and maintenance of a comprehensive Information Management System (IMS) on the operations of the sector to enhance decision making and information provision to clients and stakeholders;
• Coordinating the development of a mechanism for monitoring the implementation of capital projects and other Ministry’s programmes through inspections;
• Coordinating research on activities of the construction industry in order to generate information to facilitate decision making by policy makers;
• Coordinating the annual preparation of the Ministry’s Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) budget and workplans in liaison with all departments in order to facilitate resource mobilization and effective programme implementation;
• Coordinating socio-economic data collection in order to facilitate the analysis of projects and decision making;
• Preparation of quarterly and annual progress reports on government and donor funded projects in order to facilitate decision making and promote accountability of resources;
• Coordinating the establishment and maintenance of a comprehensive Information Management System (IMS) through the development and implementation of a system linking departments and provinces;
• In line with the Fifth National Development Plan (FNDP), the department shall coordinate the infrastructure Sector Advisory Group (SAG) members at different implementation stages;
• Coordinating all activities pertaining to gender in the Ministry; and
• Coordinating all Cabinet and Parliamentary issues pertaining to the Ministry.
The total staff establishment for the Department is 21 and is headed by a Director.