Suitability of expert determination as an ADR method for Sri Lankan building projects with a foreign party involvement

Abstract

The role of the construction industry is significant for the economy of Sri Lanka, with a notable contribution of 6% -10 % to the gross domestic product. The built environment of Sri Lanka comprises various stakeholders such as clients, contractors, consultants, manufacturers, suppliers, etc. Among them, contractors are essential to the progression of the industry. The Sri Lankan construction industry comprises few large level contractors and many small and medium level contractors. The construction project characteristics are one of the standard parameters used to distinguish one project from another. Due to the unique nature of the industry, disputes are inevitable in construction projects. The global dispute volume has increased during the past few years. There are various causes for disputes, which many researchers have studied previously. The result of the unresolved disputes causes project failure, causing a considerable financial impact on the major stakeholders. Alternative dispute resolution methods have been introduced to the construction industry to minimize the impact of disputes. These methods varied from least formal negotiation to much formal arbitration. Disputes in Sri Lanka's built environment have been studied previously. However, studies about the disputes relating to small and medium level contractors were minimal. This study aims to examine the construction disputes from the perspective of small and medium level contractors in the Sri Lankan construction industry and identify the dispute from project features to propose suggestions to minimize effects. A qualitative approach was identified as the most suitable method to study, considering the research problem. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with the participants from the small and medium level organizations as data collection. Secondly, collected data was analyzed using the content analysis method to identify the typical responses. Then, the findings were discussed and compared with what was gathered in the literature. Finally, conclusions were strained, and recommendations were provided. The research findings have confirmed that small and medium level contractors face disputes, and many of the existing dispute resolution methods are not being utilized due to inheritance problems in the SMC sector.