Extension of Time claims due to scope change under FIDIC contracts

1. EOT claims due to scope change under
FIDIC contracts
Most of construction projects go through scope changes by employer due to unclear scope
definitions during design phase of the projects, which consequently impacts the cost and
completion time accordingly.
The critical issue of scope changes is the changes that incurred during project testing and
commissioning phase rather than the change incurred during construction phase. To be more
specific, the changes which are being instructed by the employer during testing and
commissioning phase or in other words when the services of the completed project are being
commissioned and being in operation phase, due to employer’s non satisfaction of one or more
of the delivered services by the contractor. A clear example of these changes is the final view of
a high raised building from external or façade lighting perspectives especially if this point is not
cleared during the design phase of the project.
The aforementioned example is a clear scope change that impacts the project completion and
handing over as well due to non availability of the required provisions that may be required to fix
this complex type of services. This example leads to raise many concerns that impacts any
project’s cost and completion date as well;

2. - Late Engineering and Design Information.
- Unclear scope definition.
- Incomplete project BID documents.
- Improper communication protocol between project
stakeholders.
Due to but not limited to the above mentioned reasons, most of construction projects
internationally and even in Gulf Countries are administered by FIDC contracts which recognizes
the effects of these reasons and enable the contractors to claim related cost and time for scope
changes. For example;
 Sub-Clauses 8.4 & 20.1 (FIDIC 1999 Edition).
 Clauses 44 & 53 (FIDIC 1987 Edition).
 Sub-Clause 1.9 Delayed Drawings or Instructions.
Procedures of EOT claim are stipulated in Clause 20.1 under FIDIC 1999 Edition, which must be
followed by the contractor which must be complied by the contractor or the claim should be
rejected. In addition the contractor’s claim under Clause 20.1 under FIDIC 1999 Edition must be
supported by all relevant documents and records that enable the contractor to create a Cause-
Effect link of the scope changes that have been requested by the employer and/or his
representative.
It must be cleared that even EOT in construction is administered and management under FIDIC,
the cost impact calculations are not covered or defined in FIDIC and this leads to Dispute
outcomes, and in order to eliminate dispute there are standards are being used globally such as;

3. - Society of Construction Law’s Delay and Disruption Protocol
(SCL Protocol)
- AACE 29R-03 (Forensic Schedule Analysis)
To conclude the above, it’s all project stakeholders, specially employer and contractor to be
aware of all project objectives and the type of final deliverable through sorting out the project’s
full requirements and clear scope statement to have a proper defined scope. Finally the contract
agreement should follow FIDIC to have a proper way to protect the project from going out of
control and to eliminate disputes at any phase of the project.