A second edition (NEC2) was issued in November 1995 and renamed the “Engineering and Construction Contract” to emphasise the fact that its use is not limited to engineering works, and over the last decade or so the contract has become increasingly popular, particularly in the public sector. An amended form of NEC2 was used for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, for example. National Grid Transco has also recently adopted it for a national procurement project, and the English National Health Service requires a slightly amended form of the NEC2 to be used on Procure 21 projects. The private sector is also using the form more. While BAA have used it from almost its first introduction on all of their work (amounting to some £400 million a year) as well as on the new Heathrow T5, it is now also being used by companies such as Barclays Bank and BSkyB.

The third edition of the contract (NEC3) was published in June 2005. This latest edition of the NEC does not change its general approach and, although some key clauses that previously attracted criticism have now been adjusted, many of the clauses that previously attracted amendment remain.

In this article we address what changes have been introduced in NEC3 and discuss some of the further changes which might have been made, but have not.