Q1.

Explain how Omani projects would change if the NEC forms of contract were used
instead of the Oman Standard Documents for Building & Civil Engineering Works.

NEC forms of contract are still not available in Oman as currently the Oman Standard
Documents for Building & Civil Engineering Works is being implemented. Presently, the
standard Omani construction contract is based on the employer’s design as in based on the
concept of ‘build-only’ whilst international contractors working usually on high valued
projects engage under the contract that is either based on ‘engineer, procure and construct’
(EPC) or ‘build and design’ (Munk, 2018). The future Omani projects would become very
successful with the implementation of NEC as it is considered to be the family of contracts
which can facilitate the principles and practices of project management along with defining
the legal associations. With NEC, The Omani projects can obtain a wide range of supply,
services and works which can assist in spanning primary framework projects via minor works
and purchasing of goods and supplies. Especially taking into account the NEC3 contracts it
has been observed that major benefits have been procured in projects both internationally and
nationally as it has assisted in saving cost, time and quality (Hughes, Champion and
Murdoch, 2015). NEC assists with end-to end project management of contracts and
empowers the users for delivering the project on budget, time and with high quality.

Moreover, Omani projects should implement NEC as with NEC3- the Omani projects can use
it when they are working on short contracts and subcontracts as this is a major choice due to
the fact that this contract depends on the level of risk as well as complexity. Whereas, NEC4
is a form of contract based on DBO-Design Build Operate Contract, it permits clients to
obtain more integrated delivery solution whole life. In this aspect the ALC- the Alliance
Contract is well suited to the clients that want to enter into a contract based on single
collaboration with some participants for delivering the programme or project at the allotted
time (Gibbs et al., 2015). By taking into account the NEC contracts Omani projects can
flourish without any doubt as they are designed to fulfil the needs of the employer and client.
The Omani projects would change with NEC as it is the best approach to deliver largest civil
engineering projects especially now as Oman is progressing and working on major projects
i.e. The new airport in Oman opened in 2018 was the biggest project which could have used
the NEC contract as it would have provided them the project completion on budget and with
value for money. With the help of NEC three characteristics can be of procured one of with
involves the stimulation of good management based on the association amid two parties, it
can be used in a wide variety of commercial situations and lastly it involves such a structure
that is plain and simple to comprehend making it the best choice (Christie, 2017).

Additionally, the NEC contracts are implemented on various high profile successful projects
in the last 2 decades which involve ‘Crossrail’, ‘Christchurch International Airport’, London
2012 etc. and such projects have delivered the clients with certainty. Taking into account the
case of Hong Kong after the success of NEC3 the government has decided to use the NEC3
suite from 2015 on all of their projects (Thomas and Wright, 2016). Omani projects should
include NEC as the transformative effect provided by it on the construction industry is
massive assisting the collaboration of sharing risk and reward. NEC contracts can easily be
implemented in the Omani projects as it is designed for global application thus it enables the
governments to adopt it for diverse sectors. The environment of Oman’s project will change
after the implementation of NEC as it assists in major projects which the country is currently
working on thus this contract is more efficient and can assist in providing a better outcome as
compared to the current contract under which the government of Oman is operating.

Q2. List one (1) real past project in Oman which would be most suitable for each of the NEC

types.

Note: The Oman Tender Board website may be used as a source.

One of the major projects that Oman has completed is the new Muscat International Airport
which could have selected the NEC3 Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC) as it
would have better assisted them in procuring the airside civil works. The airport being the
main hub of Muscat is the country’s only largest airport and handles 56 million passengers a
year (tenderboard.gov.om 2018). The best option for the new International Airport in Oman
could have been ECC- Engineering and Construction Contract. Utilization of an ECC
alternative C target-cost contract concentrated the group on searching ahead for better
methods for getting things done. Genuine reserve funds were accomplished by planning the
work with runway wellbeing officers and by giving early or brief access to regions we had
not visualized at delicate stage. It assisted every one of us manage chance things in an open
way, for example, interfaces with different contractual workers, however it additionally
implied we were not paying a hazard recompense pointlessly. Though Oman has not
previously implemented the NEC contract however using it in the construction of Airport
would have been useful as it would be most suitable for it as it would have provided with
early warning system that is built-in the system that can easily foster risk management and
through it the contractor can identify the opportunities and risks and provide the employer in
advance a notice of the changes that are frequent (tenderboard.gov.om 2018). Another
benefit would have been risk-reduction as it would in advance accommodate the employers
towards the altering operation requirements by avoiding the extra time and cost. The NEC3
contract is the most popular among the construction of airports thus if it would have been
implemented on the Muscat Airport it would have accommodated an all-round of structural,
civil, system work and design responsibilities also involving the risk allocations and payment
structures.

Furthermore, using either NEC3 or NEC4 the benefits are bound to gain as it provides with
flexibility: the ability to construct easily and is fit for both contractual and commercial
arrangements, Simplicity and clarity- the contract is more coherent and provides vivid roles
and accountabilities therefore the use of NEC would have provided several benefits in the
construction of the New Muscat International Airport (tenderboard.gov.om 2018). With the
use of NEC types the project is bound to be delivered on time and provide the employers with
cost and performance objectives fulfilled along with greater profitability that would come for
the contractors. According to Gould (2015), after observing several projects it has been
concluded that there is no contract that was worse after the usage of NEC3 and there were a
majority of contracts that obtained greater results with it. By taking into account the NEC
contract the contractors would have been exposed to a variety of options from which they
could select for the construction of their airport i.e. ECC-Engineering and Construction
Contract, ECS- The Engineering and Construction Subcontract Contract, ECSE- The
Engineering and Construction Short Contract, ECSS- The Engineering and Construction
Short Subcontract, PSC- The Professional Services Contract, PSSC- The Professional
Services Short Contract, ALC- Alliance Contract, DBO-Design Build and Operate. These
options can allow gaining success in various sectors and areas at the airport as each one of
them has a role that they play for the benefit of the construction (tenderboard.gov.om 2018).

1. ECC- With the use of ECC the airport would have used 6 benefits that is provided by this
aspect based on price and target of activity schedule and bill of quantities, management
contract and cost-reimbursable contract (tenderboard.gov.om 2018).

2. ECS- It is similar to ECC in complexity and details however it permits the contractor to
sub-let the project to subcontractor.
3. ECSC-It is most suitable when there is a low risk present in the project and the expected
change is quite little. It is easy to manage and is a contract between the employer and
contractor.

4. ECSS- enables the contractual worker to sub-let an easier let hazard contract down the line
to a subcontractor. It is consecutive with the ECSC yet is regularly utilized as subcontract
when the principle contract is under the ECS.

5. PSC- This agreement is for anybody giving an administration, as opposed to doing any
physical development works. Planners are the clearest gathering that fit into this
classification. While they are creating a plan for a business or temporary worker, they would
join and pursue the provisos inside the PSC. The vast majority of the conditions inside this
agreement are the equivalent or like those in the fundamental ECC contract, so all temporary
workers, planners and subcontractors have practically indistinguishable commitments and
procedures to pursue from one another.

6. ALC- with the NEC4 Alliance Contract the clients can be supported as they can always be
one step forward via the integration of the delivery team for the projects that are massively
complex (tenderboard.gov.om 2018).

7. DBO- The use of NEC4 design (DBO) permits the obtaining of integrated delivery
solution and amalgamates the accountability for construction, design, maintenance, operation
that is obtained from a sole supplier.

Taking into account all of the above points mentioned it is clear that with the use of NEC
contract the construction of the Muscat International Airport would have become less
complicated as it provides several advantages to the employer and contractor.

Q3. Explain the difference between coercion and undue influence using real examples (with

References)

Coercion and undue influence are very different from one another as the former is based on
the act of threatening a person and compelling either her/him to enter into a contract without
their consent and perform certain obligations. While on the other hand, undue influence is
based on the act of controlling. The control is based on the will of the other party involving a
dominant person in the first party. When the parties consent is affected due to undue
influence or coercion it can be concluded that the consent is not free (Largent and Lynch,
2017).

Contract is based on the essence of an agreement which involves mutual consent between the
parties as the two parties agree upon the deal that is made between them by agreeing to all the
aspects involved in it i.e. Consensus ad idem. However, the consent of a party is not quite
sufficient for the agreement though it needs free consent. In a valid contract it is considered
to be the most significant element. In a case where one of the part’s consent is not free then it
can be concluded as tainted by the coercion, misrepresentation, undue influence, mistake or
fraud (Largent and Lynch, 2017).

In regard to coercion, blackmailing, threating a person’s life, beating a person or killing,

harming any member of the family, torture, detaining property are the aspects that are
included. Furthermore, it is based on the genuine committing and threatening of a person
which is about committing an offence that is strictly prohibited by the government. Taking
into account an example of coercion, in India the (IPC) Indian Penal Code-1860 coercion is
an offensive that is permissible to jail time as if in any case there is an act of coercion and the
other party is influenced by the coercions then they shall be held responsible (Largent and
Lynch, 2017). For example, in India 2014, a guy threatens a girl to marry him otherwise she
would be killed by him along with her family. This situation was regarded as coercion in
which the girl’s consent is not free. Whilst taking into account the example of undue
influence in 2017, in Sweden a teacher forced his student to do labour work in the classroom
without any reason and was promised to get good grades if he would do it. In this situation
the student’s consent is highly influenced by the undue influence.

References

Christie, D.S., (2017). How can the use of'mutual trust and cooperation'in the NEC 3 suite of
contracts help collaboration?.

Gibbs, D.J., Emmitt, S., Lord, W. and Ruikar, K., (2015). BIM and construction contracts–
CPC 2013’s approach. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers–Management,
Procurement and Law, 168(6), pp.285-293.

Gould, N., (2015). NEC contracts: programming, project management and pricing–have they
stood the test of time. Annual Update of the Centre of Construction Law & Dispute
Resolution, pp.1-46.
Hughes, W., Champion, R. and Murdoch, J., (2015). Construction contracts: law and
management. Routledge.

Largent, E.A. and Lynch, H.F., (2017). Paying research participants: the outsized influence of
“undue influence”. IRB, 39(4), p.1.

Munk, R., (2018). LEGAL LIABILITY OF THE CONTRACT PROVISIONS BASED ON

THE REFERENCE STATED IN ANOTHER CONTRACT. Ad Alta: Journal of
Interdisciplinary Research, 8(2).

Tenderboard.gov.om., (2018). [Online]. Available at:

https://etendering.tenderboard.gov.om/product/publicDash?CTRL_STRDIRECTION=LTR

Thomas, R.W. and Wright, M., (2016). Construction contract claims. Macmillan

International Higher Education.