Development of ECC for infrastructure projects

By covering several potential risks as feasible, a well-drafted infrastructure construction contract decreases the probability of disputes occurring to a significant degree. The Executive Regulations of the Egyptian Tender Law No.182 of 2018 is the governing document for drafting Egyptian Construction Contracts (ECC). However, to handle the requirements of various infrastructure projects, the ECC still requires some amendment additions. This paper sets out a guide that includes a number of amendments to the clauses that contract experts must consider when drafting new contracts in order to prevent potential disputes. This study aims to explore and investigate the major sources of conflicts facing infrastructure construction contracts, as reflected in the literature review and interview results with contract professionals. The methodology mainly incorporates undertaking a literature review, implementing a comparison and analysis of general conditions of the Egyptian, International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC), and American Institute of Architects (AIA) construction contracts, and presenting international directions for dealing with the causes of conflicts in these contracts. These steps have been followed to propose amendments for the clauses that cause disputes in the ECC while the final step is conducted to verify the amendments’ findings through experts’ interviews. The findings show that these amendments are of significant importance to be considered while drafting new construction contracts, considering FIDIC 99 (Red Book), AIA A201-1997, and the general conditions of the Egyptian Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities are the forms of general conditions that are used for comparison.