Question

When would owners want to implement separate prime contracts on a project, and why would they do it?

Answer 1

An arrangement in which the owner contracts directly with individual specialty contractors, each of whom can be considered as a ‘prime’ contractor, because there is no single general contractor to coordinate their work.

In this particular example, we include an ‘agency’ construction manager, who will assist the owner in this coordination, but the chart makes it clear that the construction manager is not related contractually to the several prime contractors.

In the absence of a construction manager, the owner’s in-house staff would assume responsibility for coordination of the several prime contractors. Note that there must be enough separate prime contracts to complete the entirety of the work, because the owner will not have any construction forces of its own.