How contracts can threaten monuments

THE current practice in project management is such that, prior to any contract being entered into, substantial work is done by the client on what is known as a “risk register”.

The client’s lawyers then develop the proposed contract(s) based on what risks the client wants to ‘transfer’ to the contractor (which will obviously come at a cost) and what risks the client is willing to share or retain.

With respect to the NRA’s suite of PPP contracts for major road projects, the delay risk and the associated costs of any archaeological find are borne by the contractor unless and until the “date of declaration” of it as a national monument by the Minister for the Environment.