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The Drainage Services Department (DSD) today (April 8) awarded the Government's first consultancy agreement under the Professional Services Contract type of New Engineering Contract (NEC), marking a milestone in the Government's wider use of the NEC for enhancing the efficiency of contract management.
The five-year consultancy agreement for the "Drainage Improvement Works in Happy Valley - Investigation, Design and Construction" will cost about $8.9 million. Under the agreement, the consultant will study and propose innovative solutions for improving the drainage capacity of the Happy Valley district, and provide support to the DSD to supervise the construction of the improvement works.
Speaking at the agreement signing ceremony, the Director of Drainage Services, Mr Daniel Chung, said, "The NEC emphasises mutual trust and co-operation between the contracting parties and has provisions that enhance the efficiency of contract management and cost-effectiveness, such as implementing the risk management mechanism together. We hope to extend the use of the NEC to consultancy agreements so that the entire sector could stand to benefit".
Since 2009, the DSD has been actively adopting the NEC in its projects and the results have been encouraging. The DSD is currently implementing six NEC contracts and many more are under planning.
Ends/Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Issued at HKT 18:14
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