What's Happening When Big Civil Engineering Projects...

[sandyRoe]

...run over budget?

Do the people who tender offer a low price to secure a contract knowing they can later adjust their price upwards?

[Hymie]

For mega-large projects (such as HS2 or Hinkley Point C), companies are not willing to commit to such work (for a fixed price) where they know there is a significant risk of cost-overruns – so they have the government over a barrel, having to agree in principle to paying more.

 

In comparison, the main contractor responsible for building the new Wembley Stadium made significant losses on the project – but sued some of its subcontractors and consultants (getting some relief).

[bednobs]

As a project manager in engineering, there is sometimes some of that. However in my experience, more often than not the people who commission the project change their minds about aspects of it causing the contractors to put in compensation events for the extra work entailed. The really big projects that run over many years have an inflationary mechanism built in so that a job priced at x million might legitimately end up at y million by the time it's finished

[Peter Pedant]

we are not rich busimess men dear boy