Research finds the number of global joint ventures that have legal wrangling is on the rise

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One in three construction joint ventures end in disputes, according to research by consultant Arcadis.

The firm, which looked at disputes on major construction projects across the globe, found 35% of joint ventures had disputes in 2013, up from 19% in 2012.

Arcadis also said the average value of disputes rose to US$32.1m (拢19m) last year, up from US$31.7m (拢18.8m) in 2012.

The report, entitled Global Construction Disputes: Getting the Basics Right, said that disputes were largest in Asia, where the average value was US$41.9m (拢24.8m).

It is the fourth year Arcadis has run the research and the value of UK disputes rose to their highest level recorded, averaging US$27.9m (拢16.5m).

The average value of disputes in the US and the Middle East was US$34.3m (拢20.3m) and US$40.9m (拢24.2m) respectively.

The research also found disputes took less time to be resolved in 2013, at an average of 11.8 months, down from 12.8 months in 2012.

Mike Allen, global head of contract solutions at Arcadis, said 鈥渃omplex鈥� and 鈥渇ast paced鈥� construction programmes created 鈥渘umerous points at which a dispute can occur鈥�. 

He said: 鈥淢any of these disputes are resolved out of the public eye but do often result in heavy costs and time overruns.  Our research indicates the scale of this problem and highlights the need for better contract administration, more robust documentation and a proactive approach to risk management to help mitigate against the most common causes of dispute.鈥�

Arcadis said 2013 was the year of the 鈥渕ega-dispute鈥� with its teams working on three separate disputes worth over US$1bn (拢593m), including the Panama Canal expansion project.

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