The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Construction Disputes International Mediation Center opened Aug 8 to provide high-quality and facilitated engineering dispute resolution services for commercial entities in the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.

The center was initiated by engineering and international mediation professionals from the three regions by integrating industrial and professional mediation resources from Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao and introducing international advanced mediation rules. It focuses on engineering disputes and consulting, research of mediation policies, and organization of professional guidance and academic exchanges and is located at Hengqin-Macao Youth Entrepreneurship Valley.

More than 100 engineering and construction projects are under construction in the Cooperation Zone, including those invested by Hong Kong and Macao. Due to different legal cultures, bidding customs, and engineering construction standards, disputes can hamper development of cross-border investment projects, according to Ma Jiuhong, chairman of the Mediation Center.

Plaque unveiling ceremony [Photo courtesy WeChat account: hengqinzaixian2021]

As stated in the Overall Development Plan for Construction of the Cooperation Zone, a diversified commercial dispute settlement mechanism featuring international commercial trial, arbitration and mediation shall be established and improved. The Mediation Center will allow Hengqin to explore a diversified dispute resolution mechanism and cultivating of mediation service brand in the engineering field, said Zhang Guoji, acting director of the Cooperation Zone Urban Planning & Construction Bureau.

Hu Zujie, director of the Mediation Center, and Yan Shu, vice director, spoke as representatives of Macao and Hong Kong, respectively. They said that mediators would give full play to their professional advantages, be active in industry mediation together with Guangdong mediators, and use the cross-border joint mediation mode to help resolve engineering disputes in the three regions. 

Zhou Zijian of the Macau Society of Civil & Structural Engineers said that it is a major trend in recent years to settle engineering disputes via litigation, arbitration, and mediation. Mediation is a preferable means in Hong Kong and Macao as it can effectively shorten the time of dispute resolution to a few months with lower costs. In addition, mediators at the center are familiar with international mediation knowledge and are professionals in the engineering field, adding efficiency and credibility to mediation.

Considering the distinctiveness and complexity of the engineering projects, the Mediation Center proposed an innovative mode of expert evaluation facilitated mediation using advanced international mediation methods.

Next, the center will serve domestic and overseas natural and legal persons as well as organizations with equal subjects in the Greater Bay Area, provide professional consulting services for standardization of the construction industry, and promote dispute meditation through seminars and training sessions. To save administrative resources, it will also intervene in project dispute mediation and work to reduce the number of arbitrations and lawsuits.

Being market-oriented, the center will promote rule-connect and mechanism docking between Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao; explore and create more replicable theoretical basis and practical experiences of engineering mediation; and boost the innovation of diversified dispute resolution mechanisms in the Cooperation Zone. It will provide a guarantee for healthy development of the construction industry and help improve the quality and efficiency of the Hengqin business environment.