8.5  LONG-STOP DATE

8.5.1  Handover or Service Commencement should not generally be allowed to be delayed indefinitely due to Contractor default. The Authority may impose a long-stop date after which the Contract may be terminated by the Authority if the Service has not yet been commenced (see Section 23.2.2 (Events Leading to Termination)).

8.5.2  The long-stop date is often fixed by reference to the Planned Handover Date (or Planned Service Commencement Date if the Contractor is responsible for soft services). The date chosen should be reasonable, taking into account the nature of the Project and the length of time the Contractor and its Senior Lenders should reasonably be allowed to remedy the situation. The Planned Handover Date and, therefore, the long-stop date should be extended to the extent of any delay caused by any Compensation Event, Relief Event or Force Majeure Event (see Sections 15 (Supervening Events) and 23.3 (Termination on Force Majeure)).