Mr. Davidsonasked the First Commissioner of Works what was the nature of the contract alterations made to the original tender submitted by the firm of Lindsay, Parkinson and Company, for the Chorley contract?
§ Mr. RamsbothamThe original contract was placed in January, 1937, as a result of competitive lump sum tendering. As time did not permit of the preparation of final designs, the tenders were based upon bills of quantities prepared from a tentative lay-out of the factory and typical designs for the buildings.
2261WAt an early stage in the development of the scheme it was found that very great changes in the lay-out and design of the buildings were called for, and the resulting variations rendered it necessary to agree to an alteration in the contractual conditions governing the valuation of the work. In addition certain concessions were made in regard to variations in wages and the basic price of structural steel.
In August, 1937, it was decided that the contract must be completed by the original completion date, although the contractor was at that time entitled to substantial time extensions. As the acceleration necessary to achieve this involved considerable additional expense to the contractor, it was ultimately decided that whilst the work should continue to be valued on the basis of the contract he would be guaranteed a minimum net profit on prime cost with a contingent increase in net profit to a maximum upper limit on certain conditions dependent upon the relationship between the prime cost of the scheme and the measured value of the work.