CostControlintheChineseConstructionSector-PeterK.M.PDF

Cost Control in the Chinese Construction Sector Cost Control in the Chinese Construction Sector Peter K.M. Ho Director, Davis Langdon Seah China / Hong Kong Limited MSc, FACostE, FRICS, FCIArb, FHKIS, FSZCEA, RPS(QS)-HK, RCE-PRC Abstract China has been moving away from a planned economy system towards a market economy. The cost engineering system in China has also been evolving to suit this socialist economy system. The paper examined the recent development of some elements of cost engineering relating to the construction sectors as follows and provided some comments thereon : ? The cost control process - 5 key stages of cost assessment ? Tendering and Bidding System ? Bills of Quantities and All-in-rates ? Contract Forms ? Qualifications Control China: Background China is the worlds most populous country, with a population in excess of 1.3 billion. It has a continuous culture stretching back for nearly 4000 years. The capital of China is Beijing and its largest city is Shanghai. In the early 1980s China dismantled collective farming and allowed private enterprise again – a crucial move came some 30 years after the nation’s liberation and the rest is history. Now it is one of the worlds top exporters and is attracting record amounts of foreign investment. In turn it is investing billions of dollars abroad. As a member of the World Trade Organization, China benefits from having access to foreign markets. In turn it has to expose itself to competition from foreign countries. China is located in East Asia; there are a number of countries adjoining it such as Russia and Mongolia in the North, Korea in the East, India, Vietnam and Laos in the West. It covers an area of 9,528,000 sq km, making it the third-largest country in the world, just behind Russia and Canada.