Key strategic move for international infrastructure, as five FIDIC standard construction contracts are published in Chinese.
In what is being seen as a significant strategic move for the global infrastructure sector, international engineering federation FIDIC (the International Federation of Consulting Engineers) has announced the publication of five of its key standard construction contracts in Chinese.
The publication of the documents is the culmination of a major translation and publishing licence agreement FIDIC signed in 2020 with Beijing-based China Machine Press, which will enable FIDIC’s key contracts and other documentation to be translated and published in Chinese.
The publication of the five contracts (see list in below) will help to widen the dissemination of FIDIC publications in the Chinese market and due to increased Chinese investment in international markets, it is believed that the move will also provide a more harmonised approach allowing Chinese consultants and contractors to better comprehend FIDIC contracts in their local language enabling them to use the market-leading documents internationally.
All five of the translated contracts are bilingual (in English and Chinese), so helping international parties to collaborate in an increasingly globalised world. Hardcopies of the contracts are available from China Machine Press or via FIDIC Consulting Services (Beijing) Ltd and digital copies can be purchased from the FIDIC bookshop. (see links below).
Commenting on the publication of the contracts, FIDIC chief executive Dr Nelson Ogunshakin said: “I am delighted to see these contracts published in Chinese. It is a major landmark in FIDIC’s aspiration to have the FIDIC 2017 suites of contracts as the foremost infrastructure, engineering and construction procurement contracts adopted in the largest populated country in the world, with the potential to become global standards.
“It means that we have now published our standard contracts in four (Spanish, Portuguese, French and Mandarin) of the key five strategic languages demanded by the seven largest multilateral development banks – the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Caribbean Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank, Islamic Development Bank and the African Development Bank, all of whom have recently adopted the FIDIC 2017 contracts for their own investment in infrastructure projects across their operating countries.”
Ogunshakin also said that the publication of the contracts complemented the strategic collaborations that FIDIC has signed with a number of Chinese engineering consultants and contracting associations and would help ensure that FIDIC contracts are adopted on the Belt and Road Initiative, the Chinese government’s global development strategy involving infrastructure development and investments in 152 countries and international organisations in Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas.
“By publishing these key contract documents in the native language of a key infrastructure market, FIDIC is creating a platform where best practice documents in the consulting engineering and construction arena can improve collaboration and communication to achieve better project implementation and successful project outcomes in terms of design quality, sustainability, value for money and transparency,” Ogunshakin said.
The five FIDIC contract documents published in Chinese are listed below.
- FIDIC Conditions of Contract for Plant and Design Build second edition 2017 (“Yellow book“);
- FIDIC Conditions of Contract for EPC Turnkey Projects second edition 2017 (“Silver Book“);
- FIDIC Conditions of Contract for Construction for Building and Engineering Works designed by the Employer second edition 2017 (“Red book“);
- FIDIC Client/Consultant Model Services Agreement (“White book”), Fifth Edition 2017; and
- FIDIC Conditions of Contract for Design Build and Operate Projects (“Gold book”) First Edition 2008.
Digital copies of the contracts are available from the FIDIC Bookshop at https://fidic.org/bookshop
To purchase hard copies of the new publications, contact FIDIC Consulting Services (Beijing) Ltd. Tel: +86-10-56950858/59/60/61 or email [email protected]
