The Pitfalls of FIDIC Contracts and How Robust Contract Management Mitigates Them: A Case Study of GCC Mega Projects

Abstract

This paper examines the common contractual traps encountered within FIDIC forms in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) mega-projects and explores how effective contract management can help alleviate them. Although FIDIC contracts aim to distribute risk transparently and facilitate timely administration, implementation gaps persist, particularly regarding notices, variation management, the engineer's authority, and dispute resolution methods. Based on a qualitative multiple-case study of key projects in GCC infrastructure (above USD 1 billion in value), the study synthesises evidence from contract records, interviews, and additional material to map the most common failures in contract operations. The results point to systemic problems, including a lack of time or quality notices, ambiguous scope management, delays in determination, and the non-use of Dispute Avoidance/Adjudication Boards (DAABs). Nonetheless, projects that adopted formal notices and claims tracking, enabled Engineers to make interim determinations, had digital record-keeping systems, and had standing DAABs showed much better results, with quicker settlements and lower rates of arbitration. The research suggests a FIDIC-consistent Contract Management Framework that integrates transactional, agency, and governance views, along with a playbook applicable across GCC legal and cultural scenarios. The findings contribute to the construction law and governance literature by conceptualising the principles of FIDIC into practical management practices. They emphasise the importance of procedural discipline, transparency, and prior dispute avoidance in delivering mega-projects through contractual balance and delivery certainty.