The Refurbish obligation involves refurbishment or expansion of existing assets. These existing assets may have been recently built another contractor or may have been in place for some time. Refurbish involves similar risks to the Build obligations, while the presence of existing assets raises a number of additional risks associated with
• The condition of existing assets - their lifecycle, appropriateness for the intended purpose and for the refurbishment or expansion works planned. There may not be an up to date asset register or any other record of the condition of those assets, and therefore tis risk can be difficult to manage.
• Any latent defects that may exist in the existing assets- even where the assets have been well maintained, defects may exist from their manufacture or construction. With existing works, it is often difficult to identify such defects, or to confirm the quality of existing construction. Also, the construction contractor for those works is unlikely to make available warranties as to the quality of the works unless such warranties are obtained in advance of the work they perform.
• Design of the existing assets and interfaces with the refurbishment, since the new works must interface with the design of the existing works, the materials used, the technology adopted, etc. The design of the existing works may limit the design options for the refurbishment of those works, limiting the technology that can be adopted, the construction methodologies that can be followed and the materials that can be used.
• Permits or regulations applicable specifically to the existing works, that would limit the use, change in use or refurbishment of those existing assets.
• Existing site and environmental conditions, often associated with the construction or use of existing works, for example the presence of asbestos, or the disposal on the site of chemical waste.
• The appropriateness of those existing assets for the works to be built, for example do the existing works fit with the technical solution or design of the new works such that the completed, refurbished works will perform in accordance with applicable specification.
In general, a Refurbish project raises the risk that the nature of the existing assets will cause a delay, increased cost of or reduce the performance of new works. The project company will generally have limited time or opportunity to review existing works and is likely to have limited information on the existing works, their conditions and any existing defects.