An Overview of Standard Contractual Forms Modifications in the Construction Industry - The Middle East Sadek Samer University of Salford, United Kingdom email:
[email protected] Udayangani Kulatunga University of Salford, United Kingdom email:
[email protected] Abstract Despite the fact that there exist several construction forms of contract that aimed at standardizing the contractual clauses in relation to the construction industry, the adoption of the same was being subject to major modifications and alteration endangering the overall spirit and consistency of the contractual forms. Knowing that the middle East region is and will be subject to major construction projects during the upcoming years, it is of major importance to consider that well figured contractual clauses would play major role in simplifying part of the complexity associated with the construction environment. The problem is that the project parties would be focusing on the contractual aspects governing the project rather than technical and execution issues which would eventually flag hindrance in the project original schedule and certainly an escalation to the project original budget notwithstanding the project works atmosphere. Furthermore, and if the contractual clauses were not drafted clearly, contracts negotiation and signature would be a time consuming challenge and would take considerable time from the total originally allocated. During project execution, the problem may become worse if the contractual terms and conditions were not clear enough i.e. the contracting parties do not have a clear understanding of what they have agreed upon, accordingly, any claim may be considered as a fertile ground for contractual disputes. The above issues represent a challenge to any project manager whose aim is to finish his project within the given time frame and allocated budget constraints.