| dc.description.abstract | The geology in Taiwan varies with great complexity, and tunneling is the most typical ‘geological project’. Accordingly, the degree of uncertainty and the level of risk of the construction of a tunnel largely depend on site conditions. Therefore, when a public sector decides to procure a tunnel project and chooses between a design & build or a traditional contract at the bidding stage, the main considerations should include which one of the two better meets the need of the owner as well as risk sharing and the way of settlement when dispute occurs.
This study surveys the major types of dispute arising during construction with traditional contract in a tunnel project, summarizing them as follows: (1) disputes due to differing site conditions, (2) disputes due to dealing with hazardous or emergent situation, (3) disputes due to mistakes not resulting from contractor, (4) disputes due to change orders, (5) disputes due to variations and adjustments, and (6) disputes due to flat pricing. The proposed ways of settlement are based on three principles: (1) reasonable cost compensation for pay items completed by the contractor, (2) fairness and reasonability of contract as well as clarify and precision of allocation of risk and responsibility, and (3) fair procedures in the settlement of dispute. After comparing the contract clauses and dispute cases between the two types of contract, this study finds that the feature of ‘design & build’ is more efficient than the traditional contract in dealing with differing site condition. In addition, owner reduces the cost of administration management and resource waste during the procedure of change order. Further, it helps reduce the amount of disputes and speed up the procedure. So it can be confirmed that the D&B contract is suitable for tunnel project.
Finally, for long and huge tunnels, the geological risks may reach so high that it reduces the benefit of D&B contract. Therefore, this study suggests that when project involves in high risks or a great amount of uncertain conditions, the traditional contract which features detailed investigation and design before bidding is better than the D&B contract. | en_US |