Abstract:
The objective of the research is to study the deficiencies or the ambiguity of the standard government construction contract, annexed to the procurement regulations of the Prime Ministers Office, 1992, which cause problems between the contracting parties and create obstructions in the construction processes. The analysis consists of 4 aspects: quality, cost, time, rights and obligations of the parties. The research was carried out by collecting information from 1992-99 cases of 3 government agencies, regarding documents, interpretations, and complaints related to the uses of the government construction contract. The three agencies are the Office of the Permanent Secretary in the Prime Ministers Office (the Bureau of Legal Affairs and General Regulations), the Office of the Attorney General and the Council of State of Thailand. The analysis leads to an understanding of the contractual conditions causing the problems between the contracting parties. The use of International Federation of Consulting Engineers conditions of contract for works of civil engineering construction (FIDlC), 1987 edition on a comparison basis provides guidelines for improvement. The results showed that the main deficiencies in the government construction contract are a result of the ambiguity of the contract provisions and the unconciseness of the contents. In a lot of cases, the government construction contract does not posses the ingredients important for practical implementations, thus obstructing a smooth construction process and inducing disputes between the contracting parties. The guidelines for the contract improvement to reduce the ambiguity and unconciseness, and supplement certain essential components are proposed.