A comparative study of ICTAD 1989 and ICTAD 2002 standard conditions of contract for building and civil engineering works

The standard forms of contract are prepared with the intention of allocating and standardizing the rights and obligations of the contracting parties and providing guidance to proper management of project objectives. Thus, the standard forms of contract play a dominant legal and management role in construction projects. This holds the fact that standard forms of contract should promote good project management. The significant attributes of a good management of contract are; clear definition and fair allocation of rights and obligations of the contracting parties, well-emphasized time, cost and quality control, and clear boundaries to the powers of the Engineer. The drafting of standard forms of contract should therefore address the above attributes to ensure good project management.

In Sri Lanka, standard forms of contract for construction are published by the Institute for Construction Training and Development (ICTAD). The first version of the standard form of contract was prepared in 1986 and revised in 1989. After many years of practical experience it has been reviewed and a new edition was published in January 2002. This paper examines the content of both editions and provides a comparison of the features of project management. The 2002 edition promotes good management of contract by having a proactive approach compared to the reactive approach in the 1989 edition. However, the two documents do not differ significantly in terms of how they deal with project management attributes.