RICS MEA Acceleration Claims: A Pragmatic Guide to Proving and Quantifying Damages and Hidden Costs

Course information

Amidst the rapid growth of the Middle East construction sector, a prevailing practice has emerged wherein owners often direct contractors to expedite their work, sometimes without valid instruction. The absence of established concepts such as constructive acceleration in the Middle East further compounds the challenges faced by contractors in recovering their costs. Instances also arise where owners compel contractors to align schedules with the original timeline to recoup owner-caused delays.

Conversely, prime contractors and subcontractors at times deliberately accelerate their progress to meet projected completion dates. Nevertheless, the concept, of entitlement, and its complete ramifications seem to be less understood by construction professionals.

Learning outcomes

• This presentation will explore diverse acceleration programs, discussing contractors' respective entitlements for each. Furthermore, it will cover the topics of unforeseen acceleration costs, the influence of productivity, recovery schedules, and the elements of constructive acceleration.

Speaker

Uditha Tharanga BSc (Hons) QS, LLM, MRICS, MAIQS, FCIArb

Contracts and Claims Specialist | Expert Witness

Uditha is a claims consultant, expert witness, and practitioner in the field of Arbitration. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of both the Royal Institution of Chartered Quantity Surveyors and the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors.

With extensive managerial, engineering, and technical experience, he has contributed to diverse building and civil engineering projects across the Middle East, South Asia, and the United Kingdom. His broad exposure encompasses various claims and numerous commercial and contractual matters, from project inception to final accounts.

Currently, Uditha serves as a claims specialist, leading the contracts and claims department for a major multinational real estate organization. In this role, he excels in preparing, defending, and evaluating construction claims. He represents the company as a senior representative in dispute resolution forums, fostering amicable negotiations between contractors, employers, and subcontractors. Additionally, he provides counsel in litigation and arbitration, acting as Counsel, technical counsel, contract and claims support for significant ongoing arbitration/litigation cases.

Uditha's expertise extends to being an expert witness, having testified in arbitration cases. He is also an accomplished author and mentor, publishing numerous articles and offering training, mentoring, and lectures   in   collaboration   with   esteemed   institutions   and   universities.   His   affiliations include   AIQS(Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors), CICES (Chartered Institute of Civil Engineering Surveyors),and CIArb (Chartered Institute of Arbitrators) and ICCP (Institute of Construction Claim Practitioners).