Contractor selection for design/build projects

Abstract

As traditional construction procurement approaches are found to be inadequate in meeting the demands and challenges of recent times, alternative procurement routes such as through management contracting or build-operate-transfer are increasingly being adopted. Although design/build is one of the more popular alternative procurement methods that also has a long history, it does not appear to have well-established contractor selection procedures. This paper focuses on developing a model for contractor prequalification and bid evaluation in design/build projects. For this purpose, it presents a comparative overview of some international practices in the design/build contractor selection process. The overall objective is to identify the core aspects of selecting a suitable bidder in order to achieve the best `value for money.' The strengths and weaknesses of current practices of contractor selection are highlighted while identifying some of the best practices followed in design/build projects by various clients.