The Impact of Recession on Construction Procurement Routes - Research Paper Example

Eriksson and Westerberg (2011) suggest, however, that collaborations and cooperation in procurement routes can mediate client concerns over cost, time and quality while at the same time satisfying the government’s sustainable development policy in the built environment.In the meantime, governments all over the world are cutting expenditures due to the recent global financial crisis and on-going reforms aimed at recovery. Invariably these budgetary constraints impact governments’ investment in the built environment (Walker, Schotanus, Bakker, & Harland, 2013).

The UK’s current economic decline puts increased pressure on the UK government to manage expenditure and at the time improve efficiencies. Thus procurement routes are expected to increase (Eadie, McKeown, & Anderson, 2013). Walker, et al., 2013) argue that collaborative procurement routes are the preferred method for improving efficiencies, lowering costs and at the same time managing time and quality to the satisfaction of both government and clients. Private procurement projects confront similar problems in the UK with respect to meeting the government’s sustainable development objective and satisfying the client’s concerns over quality, time and costs.

  For example, when Sellar Property Group agreed to a fixed price with MACE for the construction of the Shard with the expectation that construction would commence in 2008, the global financial crisis not only delayed construction, but funding by financial institutions was also withdrawn.  Sellar Property then turned to a collaborative procurement route and was able to complete the Shard which arguably represents quality, innovation, efficiency and sustainable development (Moazami & Slade, 2013).