Contract Users’ Newsletter ISSUE 4 Dec/Jan 2019-2020
Published by the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC)
www.fidic.org
A great year for FIDIC contracts The past 12 months have seen significant gains for FIDIC and its contracts as both have increased their advocacy and influence in the global construction sector, says FIDIC chief executive NELSON OGUNSHAKIN. OGUNSHAKIN Most people working in the international construction industry understand FIDIC contracts. That is why multilateral funding banks like the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, African Development Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank have adopted FIDIC contracts in their standard bidding documents. The reason for this is very simple. Whether you are a private or public sector client, supplier, main contractor, equipment supplier, sub-contractor, or a consultant, there will be a contract in the FIDIC suite that will address your needs. The banks, lenders, investors and insurers understand the risk and the allocation of risk within FIDIC contracts. By understanding risk and its allocation then you can design a mitigation strategy for that risk. The fact that FIDIC contracts are over 50 years old and used by multilateral development banks, NGOs, international governments, multinational
companies, private investors and on major projects worldwide is some endorsement. You don’t need to say any more than that! Notwithstanding this success, FIDIC is certainly not resting on its laurels and 2019 has been an excellent year for our contracts which has in turn helped the organisation to increase its influence with key stakeholders and opinion formers in our industry. This issue of our Contract Users’ Newsletter highlights some of the latest gains we have made and details some of the brilliant work being done by our volunteers in developing our contracts work. FIDIC contracts are highly regarded documents globally because they are written by engineers and practitioners in the industry and not lawyers, so they are
structured in a way that understands risk, regularly updated and the people that draft them are practitioners from different geographical areas around the world. They are also internationally recognised standard forms, that are used and are adoptable in different jurisdictions, and FIDIC is justifiably proud of this and long may it remain so. So, as 2019 draws to a close, FIDIC is looking ahead to 2020, a year when we hope to further increase our influence in the global industry, as clients and construction professionals look to use well-respected and proven contracts that allocate risk equitably and fairly and offer protection should things go wrong.
FIDIC International Contract Users’ Conference London, UK, 2-5 December 2019
www.fidic.org