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Within six months of practical completion the QS is to send the contractor a draft final account and the contractor is required to notify his agreement or disagreement (in this case with reasons therefore) within a further three months. If the contractor does not give notice of disagreement or gives…

An accepted risk or unforseeable ground conditions.Any other circumstance (other than weather conditions) which are outside the control of the contractor or subcontractors and which could not have been reasonably contemplated under the contract. (There is a dramatic about face by the authority in its attitude towards weather delays. Edition…

One of the least popular features of Edition 2 and its predecessor has been the right to make certain decisions binding upon the contractor - ie he is unable to challenge such decisions in themselves in the courts or at arbitration. There are no fewer than 16 situations in Edition…

The owner, the Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Company, undertook at its own cost a major programme of public road improvements throughout the Hung Han district to cope with the rise in traffic brought about by the rapid population increases resulting from the development. Whampoa Gardens was then developed as…

A gleaming white cruise liner featuring Hong Kong's largest roller skating rinks, shops and cinemas has just been launched in Kowloon. Nothing unusual in that except that this 'liner' has been built in reinforced concrete by civil engineering contractor Franki Kier and is not going anywhere. The 110m long cruise…

Costain's Hong Kong operation has always been active, although if the current general manager, David Head, had to pinpoint the boom times it would have to be in the early 1970s. Then, the firm not only had construction of the Cross Harbour Tunnel - Hong Kong Island's first permanent link…

Tony Blackler, a partner in solicitor Rowe and Maw, bangs his head against a wall.'Some man or other must present Wall; and let him have some plaster, or some loam, or some rough cast about him, to signify Wall; and let him hold his fingers thus ...' 'Oh wall full…

The UK construction industry, having grown in real terms throughout the post-war period, reached a peak demand position in 1971 and then suffered a dramatic set-back in the '70s. The '80s, however, will be remembered as a recovery period with increasing market opportunities for developer contractors, management contracting and project…

The spend and scale of change in all aspects of life has accelerated throughout the '80s, to such an extent that predicting and absorbing such changes, whether social, economic or political, has become very difficult for individuals and virtually impossible for Government or business. If even weeks ago anybody had…

The 1990s will be a decade of challenge and opportunity for the construction industry at large.In particular, the 'engine of necessity' has demanded that the basic infrastructure of the UK be refurbished and enlarged. We are already beginning to see the needs of the water industry come to the fore…