FIDIC publishes several standard forms of contract. This article covers the two that contractors most often meet on building and civil works. It is a practical overview, not legal advice; the actual contract documents and your lawyer decide what applies to your project.
What is the difference between the FIDIC Red Book and Yellow Book?
The main difference is who is responsible for the design.
| Question | Red Book (Construction) | Yellow Book (Plant and Design-Build) |
|---|---|---|
| Who designs? | The Employer, usually through an engineer or consultant | The Contractor, to the Employer's Requirements |
| Typical pricing basis | Measurement against a Bill of Quantities | Lump sum, often with a schedule of payments |
| Where does design risk sit? | Mostly with the Employer | Mostly with the Contractor |
| Who administers the contract? | The Engineer | The Engineer |
| What the Contractor prices from | Drawings, specification and BOQ | Employer's Requirements |
These are the general patterns. FIDIC forms are templates, and the Particular Conditions can change almost any of them.
Which one applies to my project?
Look at the contract agreement and the conditions of contract, not the project description. Employers sometimes call a contract "FIDIC" when it is a bespoke document using FIDIC language, or a FIDIC form with extensive amendments. Check these four things:
- The form named in the agreement (Construction or Plant and Design-Build).
- The edition, because the 1999 first editions and the 2017 second editions both circulate and differ in drafting, notice and claims procedures.
- The Particular Conditions, which override the General Conditions where they conflict.
- The order of precedence of the contract documents.
Gulf contracts commonly amend the standard text, including time-bar periods, payment timing, liquidated damages and termination. Treat the amended text as the contract.
How does pricing work under each form?
Under a Red Book contract the Contractor is typically paid by remeasurement. The BOQ carries estimated quantities, the work executed is measured, and the payment application reflects what was actually done. That makes accurate measurement and a clean bill of quantities central to cash flow.
Under a Yellow Book contract the price is typically a lump sum. Payment is tied to a schedule or milestones, so the evidence of progress matters more than remeasured quantities. In both cases, how interim payments are certified is set by the contract; see our overview of payment certification in the UAE.
Where does risk sit, and what changes for the contractor?
Broadly, a Red Book contractor builds what is drawn and is protected when the Employer's design is wrong or changes, usually through a variation. A Yellow Book contractor accepts responsibility for a design that meets the Employer's Requirements, so errors or gaps in those requirements, ground conditions and coordination can become the Contractor's cost unless the Particular Conditions say otherwise.
That has practical effects:
- Red Book: track instructions that change the drawn scope and record them as variation orders promptly.
- Yellow Book: review the Employer's Requirements carefully before tender, log assumptions and clarifications, and manage design development and approvals as a core workstream.
What should contractors track under both forms?
Standard FIDIC forms put the responsibility on the Contractor to give notice and keep records. Regardless of the form, keep these in order:
- Notices. Dates, the clause relied on and proof of delivery. The 1999 first edition has a well-known claims provision at Sub-Clause 20.1 with a notice requirement; the 2017 edition reorganised and expanded the claims and dispute procedure. Check the exact time limits in your amended version.
- Instructions and variations. Written instruction, valuation basis and approval status.
- Time. Programme updates, delay events and the evidence for an extension. The extension of time calculator can help structure a delay event; it does not replace contractual analysis.
- Payments. Applications, certificates, retention and the payment dates the contract requires.
- Liquidated damages exposure. Understand the rate and cap in your contract. See the glossary entry on liquidated damages.
More on avoiding disputes in construction claims and disputes prevention.
How can software help with FIDIC administration?
The contract does not care how you keep records, only that you can prove them. A platform helps by keeping instructions, variations, RFIs, submittals and payment requests in one place with dates and approvals. In Arkan, the variation orders module is where change items are recorded and routed for approval, and Arkan for contractors shows how the modules fit a contractor's workflow. Arkan does not interpret your contract or give legal advice. To see it with your own workflow in mind, book a demo.