Government’s first consultancy agreement under New Engineering Contract terms awarded

The Drainage Services Department (DSD) today (April 8) awarded the Government’s first consultancy agreement in the Professional Services Contract type of the New Engineering Contract (NEC), marking a milestone in the Government’s wider use of the NEC for enhancing the efficiency of contract management.

The five-year consultancy agreement for the “Drainage Improvement Works in Happy Valley – Investigation, Design and Construction” costs about $8.9 million. Under the agreement, the consultant will study and propose innovative solutions for improving the drainage capacity of the Happy Valley district, and provide support to DSD to supervise the construction of the improvement works. 

Speaking at the agreement signing ceremony, the Director of Drainage Services, Mr Daniel Chung, said, "The NEC emphasises mutual trust and co-operation between the contracting parties and has provisions that enhance the efficiency of contract management and cost-effectiveness, such as implementing the risk management mechanism together. We hope to extend the use of the NEC to consultancy agreements so that the entire sector could stand to benefit”.

Since 2009, the DSD has been actively adopting the NEC in their projects and the results have been encouraging. The DSD is currently implementing six NEC contracts and many more are under planning.

The Director of Drainage Services, Mr Daniel Chung (third left), and the Managing Director of Black & Veatch Hong Kong Limited, Mr. Alan Man (third right), today (April 8) signed the Government’s first consultancy agreement in the Professional Services Contract type of the New Engineering Contract for the “Drainage Improvement Works in Happy Valley – Investigation, Design and Construction”