NEC3 and NEC4 for infrastructure

The New engineering contract, third edition (NEC3) is a suite of contracts for all aspects of construction and engineering projects globally. Through a number of high-profile projects and framework contracts, NEC forms have become the contract of choice for major building and infrastructure work.

However, the NEC3 form of contract requires a pro-active approach and more administration hours than 'traditional' forms of building contract (such as the JCT or ICE). In essence, the contract imposes project management procedures, which carries implications.

This section defines the NEC3 suite’s key features, and highlights a number of high-profile infrastructure projects on which it was used. It then covers how NEC3 can be used in practice, and specifies key documents. Other important aspects such as payment, change management (including implications for the role of the project manager) and delay damages and defects are also addressed.

This section is maintained by Mark Wheeler of DIALES (part of Driver Group).

isurv section: Brief introduction to contracts for infrastructure

RICS journal article: The obligation to adjudicate under NEC

Feature: NEC4: reviewing the changes