Civil Works and Service Contracts

Utilities commonly source goods and services from private sector third parties, whether to purchase spare parts or stationery, or to procure civil works such as laying pipes or cables. Utilities may also contract out a particular service, such as customer service.

Goods will often be purchased by the utility on the basis of the provider's standard terms and conditions. In many cases this may be appropriate. However, these terms may be one-sided, or may not fit the nature of the goods or services purchased.

Set out below are a number of links to simple contracts for goods and services:

• World Bank Standard Bidding Documents - Procurement of Goods
• World Bank Sample Bidding Documents - Procurement of Non-Consultant Services

In the water sector, leakage reduction contracts are often seen as service contracts.

Civil Works Contracts

There are a number of model forms that have been prepared by the construction industry which are well-established and well thought of, such as the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC), the Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT), Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), etc. The World Bank has developed guidance and draft standard documents for civil works (based on some of these model forms) and other contracts which can be accessed at the World Bank Procurement Web page.