My comments are given in red below:From: laeeqhassan@hotmail.

com
To: sam99@eim.ae
Subject: Contract Issues
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 07:46:09 +0000
Good Morning Dr. Sam
Hope you are doing fine. We are waiting for your new session in April. CA-AC (Contract Administration
Advanced Course) is scheduled for July/August, but I am trying to bring it forward, if possible. If however
you are referring to the SCA (Sound Contract Administration), there would not be a class in April. Last class
for this year is on 11th March. Sir, i have some question hope you reply me.

Question 1
If an Engineer issues a variation under a re-measurable BOQ, FIDIC 1987 contract (RTA
CoC) and CESMM3 :a.

Is the contractor bound to use the BOQ rate if VO is instructed during contract period? Under RTA contract
yes, if the varied work is to be carried out in similar circumstances as those of the original work. Under FIDIC
1987, price fluctuations (Clause 70) should also be taken into consideration.

b.

If VO is instructed after contract, during EOT does contractor have the right to refuse to accept BOQ rates
in order to build up a new rate, and prepare new rate on basis of current LPM? Under FIDIC 1987, No. The
BOQ rates would be applicable, (if the varied work is to be carried out in similar circumstances as those of
the original work) and the fluctuations should be claimed separately. Under RTA, check the wording and if
the Fixed Price requirement is applicable only during Originally Scheduled Time for Completion, then new
rates can be claimed, but if the applicable duration is Time for Completion or Contract Period or any other
period, then the rates are deemed to be fixed for the extension of time period as well.

Question 2
If an item is referred to in Specification and drawings at tender stage however the BOQ
appears more vague, for example :Supply install, connect, test and commission fire resistant
Modular cable system with connection plug, socket, and
spur cable assembly to IP67 for luminaire connections
as per Spec
Description
Unit
5c x 6sqmm laid on cable
trays

Quantity
m

1630

Does the contractor have the ability / provision within the contract to claim "Fire
Resistant Watertight fuse connectors" as a separate item because these are measured by
piece not by meter as the cable would be. However they do form part of the modular

system although connector quantity will dependant on how many lights are required and
no reflection of how long the cable is.
This appears to be an error at tender stage by both consultant and contractor as a missing
rate .
Please reply with reference to the above questions using FIDIC 1987 re-measurable
BOQ. If a Standard Method of Measurement has been referred to in the contract
documents and that Method requires it to be measured separately, yes it can be claimed
separately, not otherwise.
Regards,

Prof. Sam.
Prof. Indrawansa Samaratunga PhD, DSc
FRICS, FAIQS, FIQSSL, FCIArb, FCIOB, FCMI, FASI, FBEng
Chartered Quantity Surveyor and Registered Arbitrator / Expert
Australian Inst.of Qty.Surveyors-Middle East Representative
PO Box 23461, Dubai, UAE. T +971504588949 F +97143378668

Thanks and Regards

Laeeq Hassan
SQS.
--- On Sat, 21/2/09, ANANDA WEERAKOON <ananda402002@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
From: ANANDA WEERAKOON <ananda402002@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: Post tension
To: sam99@eim.ar
Date: Saturday, 21 February, 2009, 12:34 PM
Dear Sir,
I need to clarify,
The Contractor is working in Lump sump building contract project, At the time of
tendering, the tender addendum was issued saying that " This tender is based on the
schematic drawings and the detailed re bar schedules were not issued. The approximate
reinforcement quantities are as follows.
Raft
PT slab
Caste in situ RC slab
Ramp Slab
...............
.............

184 Kg/m3
75 Kg/m3
120 Kg/m3
160 Kg/m3
............
............."

My question is, in the post contract stage,

1. Can the Contractor re measure all re bars as actual at site ( Tender drawings and
construction drawings are same) ? No. Contractor should use above .Kg/m3 basis and
construct the Works. If the Consultant asks him to increase or decrease it or issues
drawings showing more or less than above, then it would be a variation and should be
valued as a variation.
2. The post tension slab was changed to RC solid slab at site (revision issued for
construction), Since this Contract is lump sump, The Contractor can claim additional
cost for re bars due to above change. I need to clarify the methodology of
calculation. The Contractor is arguing that he can re measure re bars as actual at site
while Consultant is arguing that re measurement are not allowed, agreed on the same
basis as tender, the actual concrete quantity to be multiplied by re bar weight given in
tender (actual concrete quantity X 120 kg/m3 - actual concrete quantity x 75 kg/m3). This
calculation is correct to value this variation of reinforcement subject to the comment
given for item 1 above.
Regards,

Prof. Sam.
Prof. Indrawansa Samaratunga PhD, DSc
FRICS, FAIQS, FIQSSL, FCIArb, FCIOB, FCMI, FASI, FBEng
Chartered Quantity Surveyor and Registered Arbitrator / Expert
Australian Inst.of Qty.Surveyors-Middle East Representative
PO Box 23461, Dubai, UAE. T +971504588949 F +97143378668

Please clarify which method is correct since this contract is not re measure contract.
Thanks.

----- Original Message ----From: Ram Prasad

To: sam99@eim.ae
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:50:59 +0400
Subject: Question regarding a contract administration.

Dear Dr. Sam,

I am a student of your SCA. Can you please clarify my below doubt;
After reviewing contractor's quotation for a variation work & found contractor's rates
are high, can employer opt to assign the same variation work to other sub contractor
with out compensating for contractor's overhead & profit. Yes. Since the variation is
outside the original scope of work, the Employer does not have an obligation to
award it to the Contractor. He can do it himself or give it to any other contractor /
subcontractor, without compensating the Contractor.

If the contractor is entitled for his over head & profit without doing anything (As sub
contractor is going to carry out the variation work) what is the percentage he is
entitled. See above.

Regards,

Prof. Sam.
Prof. Indrawansa Samaratunga PhD, DSc
FRICS, FAIQS, FIQSSL, FCIArb, FCIOB, FCMI, FASI, FBEng
Chartered Quantity Surveyor and Registered Arbitrator / Expert
Australian Inst.of Qty.Surveyors-Middle East Representative
PO Box 23461, Dubai, UAE. T +971504588949 F +97143378668

Thanks & Regards

Rama Prasad.S
Project Manager
ETA - Power Projects Division
----- Original Message ----From: Muhammad Faisal
To: "Dr. Sam" <sam99@emirates.net.ae>
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2009 10:20:41 +0400
Subject: EOT against Provisional Sums & Contingencies included in the Contract Documents
Dear Dr. Sam,
Thank you for continuously providing your valuable views on contractual issues to the Contract
Administrators in this region.
I would be grateful if you could advise me on the following issues of Provisional Sums and Contingencies
under FIDIC Forms of Contracts, fourth edition:1) Is the Contractor entitled to an extension of time against Provisional Sums included in the Contract
Documents? No. The Contractor requested the Engineer at the time of preparation of Clause 14
programme at the commencement of the project to provide the scope and timings of works covered by the
PS. The Engineer advised that he is not in a position to provide the requisite at the start of the project and
added that the same would be provided in due course. Subsequently, the Engineer provided this information
to the Contractor well before the scheduled date for completion of the project. The Contractor's argument is
that he [as well as the Engineer/Employer] was (were) not aware about the scope and/or timing of the works
included in PS at the time of preparation of Clause 14 programme. Therefore, he could not allow these
works in his programme. The Engineer's argument is that the works covered by the PS form part of the
original scope of the works and have been instructed to the Contractor well before the scheduled date for
completion of the project. Regarding the provisional Sums, the Contractor makes certain assumptions at the
time of tendering, and based on those assumptions, the Contractor should show the windows for the work
covered by those provisional sums, when preparing the Clause 14 programme. When instructions are
issued for the expenditure of the provisional sums if there are adverse effects, then in comparison to the
Clause 14 programme, the Contractors entitlements should be determined.
2) Is the Contractor entitled to an extension of time against contingencies included in the Contract
Documents? At the time of tendering, the Contractor does not expect any unforeseen additional work
requiring EOT to be instructed under any Provisional Sum or a Contingency Sum. Also it is not customary to
instruct any additional work under a contingency sum. The Contract includes an amount of AED 5 million
against the item of contingencies and the additional works amounting to the same amount have
been instructed by the Engineer pursuant to Sub-clause 51.1 (e) of FIDIC well before the scheduled date for
completion of the project. If the additional work causes delays then the Contractor is entitled to EOT.
Additional work instructed pursuant to 51.1(e) is not in respect of provisional sum expenditure ! Provisional
sums are expended pursuant to 58 or 59.
We will be discussing in detail, Provisional Sums and PC rates during CA-AC.

Regards,

Prof. Sam.
Prof. Indrawansa Samaratunga PhD, DSc
FRICS, FAIQS, FIQSSL, FCIArb, FCIOB, FCMI, FASI, FBEng
Chartered Quantity Surveyor and Registered Arbitrator / Expert
Australian Inst.of Qty.Surveyors-Middle East Representative
PO Box 23461, Dubai, UAE. T +971504588949 F +97143378668

Your kind comments on the above matters would be highly appreciated.

Best regards,
Muhammad Faisal Chaudhary
----- Original Message ----From: Tajudeen N
To: sam99@eim.ae
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2009 06:22:56 +0400
Subject: Re: Q&A + mailing list info

Dear Sir,
Thanks for your continuous professional support and advise to improve our knowledge. Here I
have a question, please comment.
" In order to get a project under way quickly, a client has been advised, by others, to issue
a letter of intent to the contractor. The client has heard that such letter can
cause problems. "
So please state what are the problems with explanations. Only short comments are possible in
this forum. This is a vast subject and we covered this to some extent during the seventh session
Drafting the Contract Agreement. Briefly, depending on the wording of the LOI, the contract
does not form. But the Employers obligation to pay for any work done exists (quasi contract).
Since the contract does not form, unless the LOI is worded properly, it would be difficult to get any
defective work rectified, force the contractor to carry out variations, value the work using BOQ
rates, etc.

Regards,

Prof. Sam.
Prof. Indrawansa Samaratunga PhD, DSc
FRICS, FAIQS, FIQSSL, FCIArb, FCIOB, FCMI, FASI, FBEng
Chartered Quantity Surveyor and Registered Arbitrator / Expert
Australian Inst.of Qty.Surveyors-Middle East Representative
PO Box 23461, Dubai, UAE. T +971504588949 F +97143378668

Thanks and Regards

N.Tajudeen
Sr. Estimator
Ascon
----- Original Message ----From: "Kalupahanage, Ruchira"

To: sam99@eim.ae
Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2009 12:31:31 +0400
Subject: RE: Q&A + mailing list info
Dear Prof,
After long time I got time to ask and clarify the following questions,
1. If a projects contract documents are silent on Contract
Type(Lump sum/Measure and Pay) If it not clearly stated any where in the contract, which way we can
evaluate the contractor monthly payment certificate and Variations? All documents / events leading to the
formation of the contract should first be studied to verify whether there is any hint on the type of contract. If it
is very clear that no mention whatsoever exists regarding a Lump Sum, then the Employers responsibility to
provide accurate documents to tenderers would be the dominant factor to be considered. Therefore if there
are any errors between the quantities in the drawing and those in the BOQ, they should be corrected to
reflect the correct quantities found in the drawing. In other words, the completed work has to be remeasured. Variations would be dealt with as in re-measure contracts.
2. If the Conditions of Contract Clause 57 deleted and amended as follows;
The works have been measured generally in accordance with the ''CESSEM3'' method of measurement.
items not reflected in the Bills of Quantities, But shown in the drawings or specifications shall be
deemed to be included unless details in the adjustment to tender item by the Contractor.
With reference to above my question is; if contractor did not price any of items which is shown on
the drawings but not price on the BOQ, Is it meaning to say still contractor entitled to claim extra
money for what they not price at the tender stage?
In the priority of documents, if the Conditions of Contract has priority over BOQ, then Contractor cannot
claim. If BOQ has priority, then the Contractor can claim because the preamble (probably) does not state
this departure from CESMM3 which is a mandatory requirement of Paragraph 5.4

Regards,

Prof. Sam.
Prof. Indrawansa Samaratunga PhD, DSc
FRICS, FAIQS, FIQSSL, FCIArb, FCIOB, FCMI, FASI, FBEng
Chartered Quantity Surveyor and Registered Arbitrator / Expert
Australian Inst.of Qty.Surveyors-Middle East Representative
PO Box 23461, Dubai, UAE. T +971504588949 F +97143378668

Regards
K. C. Ruchira
Quantity Surveyor Asian Beach Games Project
Musanah, Sultanate of Oman.
Commercial Services
Faithful+Gould
----- Original Message ----From: Shaju Thomas
To: "Prof. Sam" <sam99@eim.ae>
Date: Sun, 15 Feb 2009 08:41:12 +0000
Subject: RE: Q&A + mailing list info
Dear Dr. Sam,

Many thanks for your continued support with distribution of Q & A, introducing advance
courses & cost effective plans to alumni which will not be available from many bodies

conducting trainings. Many Thanks. This is in pursuit of our joint mission that I
explained when we took our leave of each other at the end of the course. i. e. Together
with the World Class Social Standards that Dubai is Striving for and World Class
Construction industry it is aiming at, to also have World Class Contract Administration in
this part of the world. Thank you for being a part of an elite group of selected few - in
the Construction Industry - to steer the administration of contracts (Projects?), towards an
ultimate dispute-free completion (i.e. PCA Perfect Contract Administration), not only
in this part of the world, but also around the globe.
I would like to attend the advanced course, whats nagging me is traveling to Dubai !
Alumni from other Emirates may be able to pool their transport. In July, I will send out a
circular enquiring about this possibility. Companies normally allow their employees to
leave early on training days.
Mean time I would like clarify what will be the role of Daily report submission by
Contractor while analyzing the delays. The Daily Records are essential to prove the facts.
As I explained during the 4th session, a claim consists of 4 sections Facts, Law, Liability
and Quantum. If facts are not proven, the claim will fail. Daily records comprising of Site
Diaries, Contemporary Records of resources (affected by the event causing the delay or
disruption), Records of abortive work, demobilization, remobilization etc. are all
important for this purpose.
Regards,

Prof. Sam.
Prof. Indrawansa Samaratunga PhD, DSc
FRICS, FAIQS, FIQSSL, FCIArb, FCIOB, FCMI, FASI, FBEng
Chartered Quantity Surveyor and Registered Arbitrator / Expert
Australian Inst.of Qty.Surveyors-Middle East Representative
PO Box 23461, Dubai, UAE. T +971504588949 F +97143378668

With Thanks & Best Regards,

Shaju Kariyatty
Assistant Project Manager
Mace International Limited, Part of the Mace Group
----- Original Message ----From: ANANDA WEERAKOON
To: sam99@eim.ae
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:28:29 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: performance bond

Dear sir,
I need to clarify that if the Contractor has not provided performance bond, can
Engineer/Employer terminate the Contract? No. It is not a repudiatory breach and
therefore the Employer cannot terminate. The extremely complex subject of termination

(which is a hot topic during liquidity problems) would be discussed over 2 long evenings
during CA-AC in July. If yes, please let me know the relevant clauses. The remedy for
not providing PB is non-certification of payments by the Engineers as stated in 60.2, and
not termination.
When pricing variations (with BOQ rate), the Consultant is not allowing any additional
cost for small plants, tools, etc involved for the works but not in the BOQ rate.
Consultant argument is saying that the contractor can not claim such tools, plants etc,
unless such tools, plant have not been hired from outside for the intended variation. Is it
acceptable? No. In such a way if the Contractor used same tools, plant (included in the
preliminaries) for the day works during the execution of the Works, Can the consultant
argue same principle and can the Engineer avoid paying extra cost for tower crane,
scaffolding (already established at site) working extra hours for day works instructed by
the Engineer ? No, but the Contractor has to prove that they are extra hours (and not
previously anticipated and allowed hours in the Tender) in order to have them included as
dayworks.
Regards,

Prof. Sam.
Prof. Indrawansa Samaratunga PhD, DSc
FRICS, FAIQS, FIQSSL, FCIArb, FCIOB, FCMI, FASI, FBEng
Chartered Quantity Surveyor and Registered Arbitrator / Expert
Australian Inst.of Qty.Surveyors-Middle East Representative
PO Box 23461, Dubai, UAE. T +971504588949 F +97143378668

Thanks.