How NEC is evolving to become the global contract of choice

Last year we celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of NEC. The contract suite’s evolution over the past three decades reflects continuous improvement to respond to users’ needs. Its adoption across locations and sectors has also grown considerably. NEC contracts have now been used in Australia, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, UAE, and many more. They are increasingly being adopted in the private sector too.

Hong Kong

NEC and the Development Bureau (DevB) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region launched the Hong Kong edition of the NEC Engineering and Construction Contract in July 2023. This new edition sees NEC4 adapted to meet the future needs of Hong Kong, including specific governance procedures and legislation. Since DevB first piloted NEC in 2009, more than 500 public works contracts have been awarded worth over HK$270 billion (£27 billion). Supported by our new Head of Asia Pacific, Renee Paik who has over 20 years’ experience in growing global companies; and the wider team in Hong Kong, we look forward to partnering on further initiatives to support this market.

Singapore and Australia

Across the wider Asia Pacific market, we have been engaging with the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) in Singapore to increase understanding of the benefits of NEC. We look forward to continuing our partnership with BCA as it continues on its collaborative contracting journey in Singapore.

In Australia, there has been increasing interest in collaborative contracting and we are working with both public and private sector clients to build a strong base of knowledge to support adoption of NEC. We have seen the benefits offered through using the contracts in response to the challenges facing the construction market in Australia. This has been demonstrated through Sydney Water’s P4S project, the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) project and more to be announced soon.

The Y(Aus) clauses released in 2021 reflect our commitment to ensure that the market for NEC adopters is well supported. It makes NEC4 the only collaborative contract suite which is also compliant with local legislation. Our Australia ambassador, Peter Colacino, will continue to raise awareness of the contracts and their applicability within infrastructure and construction in Australia.

Latin America

The popularity of NEC in Latin America is also increasing, particularly in Peru. Following the success of NEC with the Pan American Games venues delivered in 2019, further projects have begun, including the Bicentennial Schools Programme.

We are looking forward to working closely with the Peruvian government and industry on furthering their NEC journey and enabling adoption across more projects outside the UK-Peru government-to-government agreement. This adoption will be supported by the launch of official translations of NEC4 contracts into Spanish.

Annual conference

Finally, on 21 June 2024 we will once again host an international audience at our NEC Annual Conference and Martin Barnes Awards in the home of the Institution of Civil Engineers at One Great George Street in London. We will highlight case studies and best practice in the use of NEC contracts around the world.

We will also demonstrate how the contracts are suitable for use in any country and in any sector. I look forward to welcoming you all there.

For more information on the conference, please go to neccontract.com/conference24.