The Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) hosted a party of construction students from the University of Hong Kong last week.

The students, all from the Department of Real Estate and Construction, were in the UK to see how the building industry works in Britain.

JCT hosted the group for a day. During the morning, Professor Peter Hibberd, secretary-general of JCT, briefed them about contractual relationships and how JCT contracts are used in more than two-thirds of projects in the UK.

The afternoon was spent visiting The Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal FC, a successful project that was built using a JCT contract.

Stadium Manager John Beattie gave an hour-long briefing about the project to build the stadium, describing some of the many challenges and obstacles such a large and complex project involves, and how it was completed on-time and within the budget, ready for use at the start of the last football season. The group was then taken on a general tour of the stadium, including the directors’ dining room and changing rooms.

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Professor Peter Hibberd said: "We were pleased to be asked to host and brief these students – it is always important that students understand fully the conditions under which projects are undertaken.

"On the one hand, there is the contract, which provides the framework and parameters for the parties working together, and on the other hand, and more importantly, is the disposition of those parties. A successful project needs collaboration and cooperation, so those involved need to approach it with a positive outlook from the outset, not the mindset that they are going to fight for every penny for every variation and delay that can be identified."

After the tour of The Emirates Stadium, the group went on to visit Sir Norman Foster’s practice, and then up to Manchester to view the many regeneration projects that have happened there.

(CD/SP)