Editors: John Scriven, Nigel Pritchard, Jeff Delmon
Publisher: Sweet & Maxwell
Price: £85
In producing this guide, the authors’ stated aim is to offer practical guidance to the construction industry and legal professionals on the contractual issues involved in planning major projects, including private finance initiative (PFI) and build operate transfer (BOT) projects.
The contents of the guide are set out concisely in 31 chapters arranged in five parts.
The analysis of the issues begins in part one with a brief overview of a major construction project and the parties and potential issues in a BOT scheme.
Part two contains a discussion of several issues relating to project procurement including bidding competitions, regulation of public procurement, and tenders and factors that influence the choices between differing contractual arrangements.
Over the remainder of part two, broad areas of risk allocation are considered, such as the pricing of contracts, the significant issue of design risk in design-and build contracts, and typical criteria for the completion and takeover of projects.
In keeping with the contemporary theme of the guide, there is also a discussion of the much-vaunted partnering concept and how this elusive creature can be reflected in construction contracts.
Part three of the guide continues the theme of risk allocation with an analysis of familiar issues in construction contracts such as delayed completion and remedies for delay including; damages and termination, typical grounds for extensions of time and increase in contractor’s prices, and defects in workmanship and materials.
There is also a helpful discussion of commonly-encountered devices for limiting or excluding liability – a subject of great significance for contractors as the size, value and complexity of projects increases.
Part three concludes with a timely
discussion of issues arising from international construction contracts and BOT projects.
As margins in traditional domestic contracting diminish, overseas work and equity participation by contractors has become a lot more common.
Part four of the guide outlines a number of matters that are ancillary to construction contracts such as environmental liability, insurance and insolvency, bonds and guarantees.
Part five is, in many respects, the most interesting. Under the heading of Related Contracts, the authors consider a number of disparate issues including the position of a contractor in a joint venture, the terms of operating and maintenance agreements, direct agreements and aspects of loan agreements.
The authors are all practising lawyers in a major City firm noted for its banking and finance practice and the insight they give into the requirements of funders is particularly interesting.
The guide does not set out to provide hard and fast rules or to suggest the answer in every case. Nor is it a substitute for the established textbooks on construction law.
It does, however, achieve the authors’ aim of providing practical guidance admirably and the authors should be congratulated on having produced such a well-written and compelling book.
It will be an invaluable asset to any newcomer to this area of practice and a useful point of reference for more experienced practitioners.
Simon Holloway is a partner at Masons.
