Review of Sri Lanka government tender procedure and standard contract conditions

Abstract

A construction project should be administrated systematically from its inception for successful completion. When a Contractor or a Consultant is selected for a Civil Engineering Project, standard tender procedures are to be followed. When obtaining services for a project an agreement is signed by the Client and the Contractor. This agreement spells out the conditions of contract covering the contract administration requirements. There are standard contracts available so that the parties can use them effectively, easily and efficiently for better results. In Sri Lanka, when public finance is utilised, the Financial Regulations have to be followed in formulating a project. Financial Regulations specify the authority, limits and procedures to be followed when a project is financed by government money. In certain instances standard procedures and Financial Regulations contradict each other thus leading to ambiguity which adversely affect the successful completion of the project. Therefore reviewing of both standard procedures and Financial Regulations for the purpose of eliminating these differences is of high priority. This research has studied the available Standard Tender Procurement Procedures and Contract Conditions, and has established relevant procedures in tendering and contract administration with due consideration to the practical applications and problems. The research also has identified the Financial Regulations available for the relevant procedures and has established and compared the consistency of Financial Regulations against the established procedures. The research revealed that in activities such as Project Strategy, Evaluation of Tenders, Extensions, Claims, etc., F.RR are not clear or not addressed adequately. In activities such as Approving the Tender Documents, Approving Variations greater than 10% of the contract value etc., F.RR contradict the established standard procedures.Futhermore getting prior approvels from relevant authorities as per F.RR for activities such as Variations and Valuation, Claims etc., are not practicable at all Finally recommendations were made where necessary on Financial Regulations to streamline both the Tender Procurement Procedure and Contract Administration Procedure.