Drivers for design-build applications in the public sector of Hong Kong

With the problems brought about by the traditional design-bid-build method, clients are seeking other procurement routes in order to have better performance in terms of time, cost and quality. Design-build (D&B) is one alternative procurement method to alleviate the adversarial relationships in the construction industry. It has been widely used all over the world in both western countries like the UK and the US, and eastern countries such as Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong. Although various reports have demonstrated the benefits of applying the D&B method to construction projects, the traditional design-bid-build remains the dominant procurement method. This paper investigates the main reasons for the wider adoption of the D&B method in the public sector of Hong Kong by means of literature and a survey. Mean ranking of the results shows that the drivers are related to the expertise and responsibilities of the contractor, namely 'D&B enables the contractors' expertise in construction methods to be introduced at an early stage in the design', 'The D&B contractor bears all risks related to the project, including management, financial and design matters', and 'The one-off arrangement of D&B makes the contractor responsible for the communication with the various project team members'. Statistical findings also prove that the major stakeholders of a D&B project, namely client, contractor and consultant have consensus in the ranking exercise. While D&B is claimed as one alternative method to procure public sector projects, further research can be conducted to increase the chance of success for D&B projects.