Coalition ‘transforms construction cost system’: ICMS
New International Construction Measurement Standards tipped to transform global industry by improving cost prediction in infrastructure projects
A universal system that enables global comparison of construction project costs launches today, according to a press statement.
A group of influential sector players got together and formed the International Construction Measurement Standards (ICMS) Coalition during a meeting at the International Monetary Fund in June 2015.
“Financing desperately-needed buildings and infrastructure including energy systems, railways, bridges, schools and hospitals can often be risky because infrastructure projects across the globe categorise and forecast the construction costs differently,” an ICMS statement said.
“Until now, it has been almost impossible for governments and investors to compare construction costs like with like. It is hard for them to know if public infrastructure projects are good value and this can waste Government, investor and public money.
“Construction is a large contributor to national economies and to keep cities functioning, governments worldwide need to spend vast sums of public money on essential infrastructure. Inconsistent information causes poor cost prediction which impedes investment and can cause 9 out of 10 mega projects to run over budget. Overall, close to $78 trillion needs to be spent globally between 2014 and 2025 on infrastructure and the ICMS Coalition saw the need to de-risk these projects for public and private sector investors. The World Economic Forum has also called for professional collaboration to standardize cost definitions and classification.”
The new ICMS standard enables, for the first time, better comparison in order to improve investor confidence and attract more private sector funding. Arup, Arcadis, Gardiner and Theobold, Faithful+Gould, Turner & Townsend and Gleeds are among leading organisations who publically announce their support for ICMS by registering as ICMS “Partners” committing to its future use.
See Lian Ong, Chair of the ICMS Standards Setting Committee and Chair of Commission 10 (Construction Economics and Management) the International Federation of Surveyors, said: “We are delighted to launch this new standard. With increasing levels of public private, cross-border financing and construction investment funds underpinning our pension schemes, it is vital to make sure costs can be assessed in a transparent way. The ICMS framework will improve ways of working and this collaborative project is an example of the global construction profession uniting to improve ways of working for the public interest.”
The new standard harmonises cost, classification and benchmarking definitions to enhance comparability and consistency of capital projects. A report by McKinsey Global Institute, ‘Reinventing Construction: A route to higher productivity’ (Feb 2017), finds that the International Construction Measurement Standard ‘will help clarify the costs of projects.’
Robert Jackson, RICS Regional Director, said: “ICMS will benefit all stakeholders with an interest in buildings and civil engineering construc
