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Familiarity with principal agent's independent discretion critical to construction industry operators

It is not unusual in construction contracts for principal agents to be vested with the power and authority to assess the works and to bind the employer to the amounts payable to the contractor. The Principal Building Agreement of the JBCC 2000 (prepared by the Joint Building Contracts Committee Incorporation) is no exception. The amount payable to the contractor under the JBCC is triggered by the principal agent issuing a payment certificate to the employer after having assessed the amount in accordance with the value of the completed work.

PLC Cross-border Constructions and Projects Handbook 2011/12

Overview of the construction and projects sector: What are the main trends in the local construction and projects market? What are the most significant deals?

The construction and engineering environment is sophisticated (both from a legal and market perspective), and therefore procurement arrangements vary. An open or limited tender process is typically used (and generally required for public sector procurement), although negotiated procurement is not uncommon in the private sector.

The most common procurement arrangement for road works, or commercial or residential building works is for an appointed single main contractor to construct the works. The contractor assumes full responsibility for all construction activities and the supply of all labour and materials (whether supplied by the contractor or by subcontractors). The contractor carries out the works according to the employer’s design, under the direction of the employer’s agent. The employer appoints the design team.

PLC Cross-border Construction and Projects Handbook - South Africa

PLC Construction and Projects Handbook 2011/12, Country Q&A.

Construction and Projects: South Africa by Rob Morson, Alayne Meinesz and Aimee Foreman

Reproduced with permission from Practical Law Company. This article was first published in PLC Cross-border Construction and Projects 2009/10 (www.practicallaw.com)

A BRIEF REVIEW OF THE CONCEPT OF TIME AT LARGE IN SOUTH AFRICAN CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS

Time at Large is essentially an English Law concept which is not a legal term, but which describes the situation where, for various reasons, there is no identified date for the completion of the works by the Contractor.

THE CODE OF CONDUCT IN THE CIDB ACT

In an industry which is currently booming with the build up to 2010 and the general expansion and upgrading / refurbishment projects across the country, fuelled by a relatively stable local economy, it is important for participants in the construction industry to have cognizance of the legislative framework in which they are conducting business and more specifically the obligations which are imposed on them by legislation. The Code of Conduct in the Construction Industry Development Board Act, 38 of 2000 (“the Act”) is one such piece of legislation.

Builder’s liens: A practical legal review

South Africa’s ever-growing construction industry continues to reflect a significant rise in the growth levels of construction, infrastructure development and renovation. In the context of such a dynamic and demanding market, the builder’s lien represents an affordable, common sense approach to providing the contractor with an effective means of securing monies due to it by the employer.

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