International Construction Law Review
THE IMPORTANCE OF TRANSPARENCY AND COMMUNICATION IN THE CREATION OF INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS
ROHAN SHORLAND
BE, CEng, FICE, FCIArb
INTRODUCTION
The creation of an infrastructure project requires, particularly for an employer, the management and co-ordination of a great deal of external input in the many steps to be taken in the general procedure between inception and completion.
There is also a great deal of internal involvement between members of an employer’s department and between departments themselves.
Transparency of actions and good communications are necessary ingredients to success. Participants need to know what others are doing and need to be able to communicate at all levels.
To the extent that provisions for transparency and communications are found in procedures and contracts this should be, ultimately, a manifestation of an operational and administrative culture that flows from the top down. It is not enough to simply make provisions in a consultancy or works contract (no matter how praiseworthy) if the culture of those operating the contracts prevents the provisions from being properly implemented.
This paper reviews various steps in the life of an infrastructure project with reference to administrative cultural backgrounds and the express provisions for transparency and communication within and between the parties’ organisations. It then uses the review as background for a briefcase study on two Hong Kong contracts. One was a success; another was not.
PUBLIC POLICY OBJECTIVES IN INFRASTRUCTURE CONTRACTING
Throughout this discussion it is helpful to have in mind the public policy objectives of infrastructure contracting. Once a political or administrative decision has been taken to create a project there is no doubt that the public interest is that the project be built to the stipulated quality (including environmental and health and safety), within the desired time frame and to the appropriate price.
On the face of it the price of a project is the “accounted” cost of the
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Transparency and Communication in Infrastructure Projects
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