International Construction Law Review
THE PROJECT DEFINITION ROLE IN THE ELECTION OF A PUBLIC PROJECT DELIVERY MODEL IN AUSTRALIA AND SOUTH AMERICA
Guillermo AlarcÓn Zubiaurr*
Senior Associate in Navarro Sologuren, Paredes, Gray – NPG Abogados
ABSTRACT
This article puts in the spotlight the regulation of project definition in the early phases of infrastructure projects in Australia and South America as a critical issue to avoid adverse outcomes in delivery. Through a comparative analysis of Australian and South American jurisdictions, the importance of flexibility and following industry best practice in project definition legislation is demonstrated. The article concludes that this gives more opportunities to choose the most suitable delivery model to a public project.
INTRODUCTION
The delivery outcomes of public major infrastructure projects remain suboptimal, despite the existence of many projects which seek to narrow the global infrastructure gap. The reasons for this are numerous and extend to all the phases of the lifecycle of infrastructure projects. Literature on this topic and lawyers have focused on efficient and practical tools for the execution phase of the projects.1 Nevertheless, proper awareness of project definition, as a critical issue in the early phases of infrastructure projects, should be highlighted due to its power to avoid adverse outcomes in the delivery of a project.
It is common practice amongst public principals seeking rapid and effective results, to overlook the conception and planning phases of a project. Usually, there is minimal technical or financial description to support a project going directly to the authorisation and execution stages. This practice, however, could negatively impact any financial model, institutional objectives, and achievement of success. This paper seeks to identify the vital role of the quality of the information and definition of a project available to a principal. The jurisdictions of New South Wales and Victoria in Australia and Chile and Peru in South America are compared to
* Guillermo Alarcón Zubiaurr, senior associate in Navarro Sologuren, Paredes, Gray - NPG Abogados, in Lima, Peru (galarcon@npg.pe). An earlier version of this paper was submitted to the University of Melbourne (Australia) as part of the Advanced Construction Law subject in the Master of Construction Law in 2019 and was highly commended.
1 See e.g., Serpell, A, Administración de Operaciones de Construcción (Alfaomega Grupo Editor, 2002); Sanders, S and Thomas, H, “Factors Affecting Masonry-Labour Productivity” (1991) 117(4) Journal of Construction Engineering and Management 626.
Pt 3] The Project Definition Role in The Election of a Public Project
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