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International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET)

Volume 11, Issue 1, January 2020, pp. 43-52, Article ID: IJCIET_11_01_006
Available online at http://iaeme.com/Home/issue/IJCIET?Volume=11&Issue=1
ISSN Print: 0976-6308 and ISSN Online: 0976-6316
DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.34218/IJCIET.11.1.2020.006
© IAEME Publication

THE RENAISSANCE OF FAIRNESS IN GROUND


RISK ALLOCATION – THE NEW ITA/FIDIC
EMERALD BOOK
A. E. Dix
Engineering Department, Visiting Professor of Tokyo City University,
Tokyo, Japan

ABSTRACT
Unfair contracting practices are a major contributor to the high cost, failed
schedules, bankrupted Contractors and other abominations afflicting major
subsurface projects in many countries. The new Emerald Book is an ITA/FIDIC joint
initiative to create a fairer contractual framework for the construction of underground
works and heralds an international recognition of the benefits of carefully
apportioning ground conditions risk.
Inappropriate risk allocation contributes to the cost, schedule uncertainty,
business risk and complexity of underground infrastructure delivery.
In recent decades ill-informed allied professionals have wrongly guided
Employers to specify irresponsible contractual terms that entirely place ground
condition risk (sovereign risk) with the Contractors and then invite the market to enter
a fierce commercial battle in which the lowest bidding Contractor assumes the
sovereign’s ground risk. Financiers are advantaged by such risk apportionment but
rarely is this motivation for such practices acknowledged or discussed.
Under the new Emerald Book, FIDIC arrangements commercial tension is
directed to the price for construction and associated works for the execution of the
excavation and lining works including design and construction methods and the
reaction of the ground to such methods. The Geotechnical Baseline Report sets out
the allocation of the risk between the parties for such subsurface physical conditions.
Under the new FIDIC/ITA Emerald Book arrangements the Contractor is expected
to perform in accordance with its bid and is only compensated for the conditions
encountered. For the Employer this means that they can rely upon the Contractor to
perform as warranted under the Contract – demanding the competence, skill and
expertise required to undertake the anticipated task. For the Contractor it means that
where the encountered conditions and reaction of the ground is not as warranted by
the Employer, there is a mechanism to adjust the terms of the Contract to compensate
for the consequences of unanticipated conditions.
The attraction of this new FIDIC/ITA Emerald Book Contract framework is that
for the most part it draws upon the well-known normal FIDIC forms of contracting
providing reassurance to Employers, Contractors and Banks that the allocation of

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The Renaissance of Fairness in Ground Risk Allocation – The New Ita/Fidic Emerald Book

risks, mechanisms for dispute and conduct of Contract management are sound,
reliable and internationally understood.
Innovative features of the new Emerald Book include a contractual mechanism to
extend or shorten the time for completion, adjustments to remuneration and a focus on
the expertise of the Contractor. Importantly these innovations are linked to
Geotechnical Baseline Reports and therefore the rock. In this way rock beats paper
because remuneration is based upon fact and not maneuvering for commercial
variations and other elaborate desperate mechanisms.
Keywords: Contracts, Geotechnical, Risk, Underground, GBR and Costs.
Cite this Article: A. E. Dix, The Renaissance of Fairness in Ground Risk Allocation –
The New ITA/FIDIC Emerald Book. International Journal of Civil Engineering and
Technology 11(1), 2020, 43-52.
http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/issues.asp?JType=IJCIET&VType=11&IType=1

1. INTRODUCTION
The new FIDIC[1]/ITA[2] underground works standard Contract of 2019 heralds an
international change in direction of apportioning risk by rightly recognising the role of ground
conditions in formulating the reward for Contractors for effort and the demand by Employers
for Contractors to perform.
The apportionment of ground risk in a technical context within a structured contractual
risk sharing legal framework is an international step change in ground risk apportionment.
This new Contract is known as the Emerald Book, 2019 Ed. It is based upon FIDIC’s highly
successful Conditions of Contract for Plant and Design-Build, FIDIC’s Yellow Book.
The ITA, Contractual Practices Group, chaired by the author, produced “The ITA
Contractual Framework Checklist for Subsurface Construction Contracts” of April 2011.[3]
This document (now in review for 2nd Edition), was the first articulation of the special
subjects requiring consideration in an underground works contract.
The ITA conducted a world survey of the performance of subsurface construction projects
and found that there was a correlation between ‘on time’ and ‘on budget’ projects and the use
of sophisticated risk apportionment methodologies, technically competent Employers and
Contractors. The most pertinent example came from Switzerland where the Swiss Tunnelling
Contracts tended to result in a greater degree of certainty of quality, cost and timeframe
outputs.
A detailed analysis of the Swiss suite of contracts also revealed that they were tailored to a
European context and therefore, despite being the most sophisticated contracts identified,
were not considered readily transferrable to becoming a default international model, although
their merit in sophisticated and experienced subsurface construction countries is undeniable.
The ITA then set about a process of identifying key global ‘off the shelf’ standard form
Contracts that might become the base for a new global underground works template.
Several international organisations were approached to collaborate with ITA to formulate
a bespoke global underground works contract – FIDIC rose to the challenge and a joint task
force was established. After more than 5 years of collaboration between experts from more
than 40 countries the first edition of the joint FIDIC / ITA conditions of contract for
underground works was released in May 2019 as the Emerald Book, 2019 Ed. It is anticipated
that the Emerald Book will be the first of many underground works specific forms of contract.
ITA’s objective is to develop a global culture for fair risk apportionment in underground
works.

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A. E. Dix

The apportionment of ground risk in a technical context within a structured contractual


risk sharing legal framework is a step change in ground risk apportionment. The Emerald
Book is based upon FIDIC’s highly successful conditions of contract for plant and design-
build (FIDIC’s Yellow Book) [4].
Under the new Emerald Book, FIDIC arrangements, commercial tension is directed to the
price for construction and associated works for the execution of the excavation and lining
works including design and construction methods and the reaction of the ground to such
methods. The geotechnical baseline report (GBR) sets out the allocation of the risk between
the parties for such subsurface physical conditions.
The Employer has the ability within the GBR to throttle the level of ground risk by
defining the ground conditions for the purposes of obtaining a bid. The Employer is not
required to draft a ‘correct’ GBR – the GBR merely serves as the measure by which the
Works and their rate of construction by the Contractor will be linked to the agreed price. The
specific wording of the GBR is the way in which the risk of ground conditions variability is
apportioned. The GBR is the point of reference for adjusting the Contract remuneration and
timing. It is not, and never was intended to be, a dissertation on the underground conditions
in an academic or theoretical sense. Sometimes boffins get confused about the GBR – it is
not the trigger for infinite ground investigation – it is just an articulation of a base line so that
performance and reward can be measured.
The GBR formulation will directly influence the allocation of risk. An overly cautious
GBR may result in higher bid prices, whereas an overly simplified GBR may excuse a
Contractor from otherwise foreseeable risks.
Under the provisions of the Emerald Book arrangements the Contractor is expected to
perform in accordance with its bid and is rewarded or punished by referencing the contracted
technical conditions. For the Employer this means that they can rely upon the Contractor to
perform as warranted under the contract – demanding the competence, skill and expertise
required to undertake the anticipated task. For the Contractor it means that where the
encountered conditions and reaction of the ground is not as warranted by the Employer, there
is a mechanism to adjust the terms of the contract to compensate them for the unanticipated
conditions.
The attraction of this new FIDIC - ITA Emerald Book contract framework is that for the most
part it draws upon the well-known normal FIDIC forms of contracting providing reassurance
to Employers, Contractors and banks that the allocation of risks, mechanisms for dispute and
conduct of contract management are sound, reliable and internationally understood.
Innovative features of the new Emerald Book include a contractual mechanism to extend
or shorten the time for completion, adjustments to remuneration and a focus on the expertise
of the Contractor. Importantly these innovations are linked to the GBR and therefore the
rock. In this way “rock beats paper” because remuneration is based upon fact and not
maneuvering for variations and other elaborate legal mechanisms.
It is expected that the Emerald Book will provide thought leadership to Employers,
lawyers, bankers and insurers about alternative means of appropriately apportioning risk in
large underground works projects. While the Emerald Book is definitely not applicable to
delivering all projects, it provides thought leadership that will contribute to equitable
apportionment of risk between the State and Contractors and thereby protect all parties from
windfall losses and gains driven by unexpected ground conditions.
As Sir Harold Harding has said [5]:
“The only bore hole that can be relied upon to describe the ground conditions
precisely would be one the length of the tunnel and several feet larger in diameter.”

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The Renaissance of Fairness in Ground Risk Allocation – The New Ita/Fidic Emerald Book

Let us hope that the Emerald Book assists the world to responsibly deliver the
underground infrastructure it so desperately needs without destroying the construction
industry upon which the projects rely.
The author laments that in countries such as Australia the results of unfair risk
apportionment have decreased the number of local contracting companies, capable and
willing to assume subsurface risks, despite an Australian subsurface construction ‘boom’.
The consequences on cost, delivery times and quality of such practices remains to be seen, but
it is almost certain unfair ground risk apportionment will adversely impact the outcomes.
Hopefully the Emerald Book will encourage parties to reembrace the concepts of fairness in
contracting.

2. KEY FEATURES OF THE EMERALD BOOK


2.1. Underground Works
As noted in the forward to the Emerald Book 2019 Ed. [6]:
“Compared to other works, underground works are predominately characterised by three
unique features:
• The method of excavation and ground support are major factors for the successful
realization of the project, and therefore part of the Works;
• Physical access to the Works is often limited to just a few locations or even a single
location, which places serious constraints on construction logistics and the
environment; and
• The land beneath which the Works are to be constructed, typically belongs to a
number of parties.
Further there are two other important features that are not unique to underground works,
but which are characteristic of all such works:
• They require extensive investment in Contractor’s equipment; and
• Underground excavation and lining works are very time-consuming.”
The Emerald Book notes that it is essential that the employer gives careful consideration
to all of these key features of underground works projects during the preparation of tender
documentation because the successful completion of the works and the ability of a tenderer to
rightly price the works is a direct function of these unique and fundamental features of
underground works projects.

2.2. The Priority of Contractual Documents


To understand how the Emerald Book Contract works, demands knowledge of what lawyer’s
call, ‘priority of documents’. Under the Contract the documents are ordered in decreasing
‘priority’. The Contract agreement itself has the highest priority and the lowest priority is
accorded to documents like the Geotechnical Data Report (GDR), the Risk Register and even
the Contract Risk Management Plan.
The Contract data, the Completion Schedule and the Schedule of Baselines are a higher
priority than the GBR. And the GBR has a higher priority than even the Employers
Requirements, General Conditions, Contractors Proposal and even Joint Venture undertakings
(Clause 1.5).
It is this priority of requirements that drives certainty in an Emerald Book project.
Uncertainty of requirements is cured by the priority of the document in which they appear.

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A. E. Dix

The Completion Schedule and the Schedule of Baselines provide the trigger for
intervention by the Employer’s Engineer. This is how risk is fairly apportioned. The
Contractor is expected to do the job as they tendered in accordance with the agreed schedule –
this is the priority under the Contract. If conditions are not as expected and loss is incurred
then, and only then, is the Employer liable. This Contract focuses on the engineering, the
excavation and the lining. The Contract is intentionally directed away from lawyers except
for its proper administration in accordance with law which includes the professional conduct
of the major actors under the Contract – especially the Engineer.

2.3. The Engineer


As foreshadowed above the Engineer plays a central role in administration of the Emerald
Book conditions. The Engineer is deemed to act for the Employer. (Clause 3.2.1) However,
the Engineer must, at all times, act professionally and in relation to some special duties must:
‘… act neutrally between the Parties and shall not be deemed to act for the
Employer’. (Clause 3.7)
The duty to act fairly (Clause 3.7.2) in relation to Claims is overarching and implies a
range of administrative and quasi-judicial characteristics. This overarching requirement of
fairness underpins the success of an Emerald Book underground works project. As would be
expected there is a mechanism to challenge an Engineer’s decision (Clause 21.4) which
results in the Dispute Avoidance Board (“DAB”) undertaking a decision review and, failing
compliance with the DAB’s decision an arbitration mechanism is provided (Clause 21.6).
The Engineer is at the heart of the administration of an Emerald Book project.

2.4. The Employers Requirements


The Employers requirements are included as part of the Contract and describe the purposes
for which the works are intended and specified the Contractors key personnel and any special
equipment, project scope preliminary design carried out by or on behalf of the Employer
(Employer’s Reference Design) and design or other performance technical and evaluation
criteria for the Works. It is essential to recognise that these requirements are subordinate to
the Geotechnical Baseline Report (Clause 1.1.39).
This means that if the ground conditions are not as expected or are as expected but do not
accommodate the Employers requirements, a Notice must be issued to the Engineer for
clarification (Clause 1.5). This highlights the priority given to the GBR and how it drives
behavior of parties under the Contract.

2.5. The Geotechnical Baseline Report


The Geotechnical Baseline Report (“GBR”) is defined within the Emerald Book as (Clause
1.1.51):
“The report entitled Geotechnical Baseline Report as included in the Contract that
describes the subsurface physical conditions to serve as the basis for the execution of
the Excavation and Lining Works, including design and construction methods, and the
reaction of the ground to such methods. The GBR sets out the allocation of the risk
between the parties for such subsurface physical conditions.”
It is essential to understand that legally the GBR is not a statement of truth about the
actual rock conditions. The GBR describes the basis for the execution of the excavations and
lining works, but, it does not warrant that it is correct. The Emerald Book Contract provides
the mechanism for what occurs commercially, if it is correct, and also what occurs and how

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The Renaissance of Fairness in Ground Risk Allocation – The New Ita/Fidic Emerald Book

time and cost are adjusted if it is not correct. This is at the heart of the Emerald Book risk
apportionment model.
Of course, it will usually be better if the GBR closely describes the basis for the execution
of the excavations and lining works because in such cases the cost and schedule bid will more
likely match the project outcome. However, the fundamental point is, if the GBR is wrong
there is a pre-agreed mechanism to adjust the price and schedule.
To balance the GBR a “Geotechnical Data Report”, the GDR (Clause 1.1.52), is also
included in the Contract and it contains the geological geotechnical and hydrogeological data
deemed to be in the employers’ possession at the Base Date.
The Base Date (Clause 1.1.4) is a contractually defined term which means the date 28
days before the latest date for submission of the Tender.
When viewed in combination these provisions allow an Employer to go to market and
engage bidders with a high degree of commercial tension and allow bidders to aggressively
bid based on a common and agreed base case for the underground conditions.
Utilising this contractual framework, the mechanism for payment and time can be adjusted
if and when unexpected conditions are encountered. By entering into a Contract with the
prospect and mechanism for dealing with differing conditions agreed in advance the risks are
more fairly allocated.
If the Contractor fails to deal with the anticipated ground conditions appropriately, they
will be punished commercially. If the ground conditions are not as expected the time and
remuneration can be adjusted using mechanisms and even rates agreed in advance. To some
considerable extent this removes the gambling component of pricing the ground risk and
encourages Contractors to focus on substantive issues such as expertise, excavation, mining
and support works, design and construction methods.
Of course, there is still a place for the legal team – but the focus shifts from exploring
exotic means of extracting money from an Employer (or defending such actions) to examining
and evidencing actual conditions encountered and how the project responds to them within the
context of a highly regulated Emerald Book disputes mechanism.
Importantly the Emerald Book also deals with lengthening and shortening the project
duration as a function of ground conditions. This is a very powerful mechanism from within
the Contract – especially so because these projects can span many years, even decades.

2.6. Time for Completion of Underground Works


The Emerald Book specifies the Time for Completion.
The Emerald Book contemplates the Time for Completion concept being divisible into
sections of a project or even milestones and as part of the Contractor’s proposal. The
“Completion Schedule” takes on a special meaning (Clause 1.1.8). The Completion Schedule
is included in the Contract and states the Time for Completion for permanent and temporary
Works, any part of the works defined in the Contract, any milestones (completion of
excavation and completion of lining are deemed milestones (Clause 1.1.63)) and setting out
the logical sequential links between each Time for Completion (Clause 1.1.8) are not
negotiable Contract deliverables.
What is different is that the Time for Completion is specified as a number of days to
which is added any extensions of time that the Contractor is entitled to. Grounds for
extensions of time include:
• A change in the Employer’s requirements (a variation)

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• Exceptionally adverse climatic conditions (unforeseeable having regards to the climatic data
made available by the employer and/or climatic data published in the country for that
geographic location)
• Unforeseeable shortages in personnel or goods caused by epidemic or government action
• Any delay impediment or prevention caused by or attributable to the employer the employer’s
personnel or the employer’s other Contractors on the site (Clause 8.5)
• The results of measurement of the excavation and lining works (Clause 13.8)
If the Contractor has diligently followed the procedures laid down by the relevant legally
constituted public authorities or private utility entities in the country and those authorities or
entities delay or disrupt the Contractor’s work and the delay or disruption was foreseeable
then this delay or disruption is considered grounds for extension of Time for Completion
(Clause 8.6).
On the other hand if actual progress is too slow to complete the Works, a section, to meet
a Milestone or if progress has fallen behind the program then the Engineer may instruct the
Contractor to submit a revised program describing revised methods the Contractor proposes to
expediate progress and complete the Works Section or meet any Milestones within the Time
for Completion. These proposals are entirely at the Contractors expense and may even be the
subject of a claim by the Employer for additional costs incurred (Clause 8.7).
In this way the Contractor is at risk for failing to meet the agreed contractual timelines for
project delivery due to its failure to meet its promises under the Contract but the Employer is
responsible for consequences arising from ground conditions outside the GBR or other
circumstances in the Employer’s control or departing unforeseeably from the site data
provided under the Contract.

2.7. Use of the Geotechnical Baseline Report


Under the Contract the Contractor is deemed to have based their Tender and their proposal for
excavation and lining works on the subsurface physical conditions and ground reactions
described in the GBR. Even if there are other documents and the data made available to the
Contractor during Tender that suggest otherwise – the GBR is paramount (Clause 4.10.2).
The Contractor is also deemed as far as ‘practicable’ to have obtained all necessary
information as to risks, contingencies and other circumstances which may influence or affect
the Tender or Works and to have as far as ‘practicable’ examined the site, its surroundings
and other available information on (Clause 4.10.1):
• Form and nature of site and adjacent structures
• Hydrological and climatic conditions
• Extent and nature of the work and goods necessary for the execu tion of the works
• The laws, procedures and labor practices of the country
• The Contractor’s requirements for access, accommodation, facilities, personnel, power,
transport, water and any other utilities and services

2.8. Price
Under the Emerald Book there is an Accepted Contract Amount for the Works. That amount
is deemed to cover all of the Contractors obligations under the Contract and all things
necessary for the proper execution of Works in accordance with the Contract (Clause 4.11).

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The Renaissance of Fairness in Ground Risk Allocation – The New Ita/Fidic Emerald Book

Project delays and additional costs actually incurred are recoverable as a result of
subsurface physical conditions actually encountered that are outside the limits described in the
GBR (Clause 13.8).
There is a strict mechanism for giving the Engineer notice of such unforeseeable
conditions which have or are likely to have an adverse effect on progress or cost.
Notice must:
• Be given as soon as practicable and in good time to allow the Engineer opportunity t o in spect
and investigate the physical conditions properly and before they are disturbed
• Describe the physical conditions, so that they can be inspected and/or investigated promptly
by the Engineer
• Set out the reasons why the Contractor considers the physical conditions to be Unforeseeable
• Describe how the physical conditions will adversely affect progress and/or increase the cost of
the execution of the Works
Ideally the Notice should include proposals for measures to be taken to further investigate
or mitigate such physical conditions (Clause 4.12.1).

2.9. Engineers Duties


The Emerald Book imposes strict requirements mandating the Engineer:
‘inspect and investigate the physical conditions … immediately …’
all within a period of days as agreed with the Contractor. At the same time and during this
period the Contractor is required to continue execution of the Works using such proper and
reasonable measures as are appropriate for the physical conditions while also enabling the
Engineer to inspect and investigate them.

2.10. Unforeseen Physical Conditions Not Described in the GRB


At the heart of the Emerald Book risk apportionment is the delay and cost provision which
clearly states that if the Contractor encounters physical conditions that will have an adverse
effect on the progress or increase the cost of the execution of the Works and they are not
described in the GBR (Clause 4.12) then:
‘If and to the extent that the Contractor suffers delay and/or incurs Cost due to these
physical conditions [those having an adverse effect on progress and/or increased the
cost of the execution of the Works] … the Contractor shall be entitled … [to] payment
of such Cost.’

2.11. Time Related Charges


Underground works projects have especially high costs of investment in areas such as
equipment and large depreciation costs, interest and overheads. This means, that an atypically
high proportion of the cost to the Contractor is time related while the remainder of the cost
depends on the volume or quantity of the performed works.
As a result, the Emerald Book specifically provides adjustment of Time for Completion
due to the difference between the contractually agreed and the encountered subsurface
physical conditions. This means a departure to the conditions encountered in the GBR may
also lead to an adjustment of the Contractors remuneration for time related charges. The Bill
of Quantities for Excavation and Lining Works (Clause 13.8.2) should distinguish between
time related rate items, quantity related items and fixed rate items for the performance of the
Works (Clause 13.8.3). The Time for Completion can be shortened or extended, and the
financial consequences of such changes will depend upon the reason for the change. In all

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A. E. Dix

cases the variation in Contract Price is adjusted by having regard to measurements,


appropriate rates and prices for items in the Bill of Quantities (Clause 13.8.4).

2.12. Payment for Excavation and Lining Works


Normally only the excavation and lining works are subject to measurement and the accepted
Contract amount is deemed to cover all other underground works and all things necessary for
the proper execution and completion of the Contract.
Furthermore, if, and only to the extent that the Contractor suffers delay, and/or incurs
costs as a result of subsurface physical conditions actually encountered that are outside the
limits described in the GBR those costs and delay are also dealt with under the Contracts
unforeseeable physical conditions provisions. Practically this means that once such physical
conditions are encountered the Contractor must give notice to the Engineer, and a timely
investigation be conducted and if factually proven an award for payment to the Contractor
made.

2.13. Process for Award Payment


Either party can claim under the Emerald Book. Importantly there are strict timelines for
making claims. This means that the common practice of ‘keeping your powder dry’ by not
making claims as they arise has not place under the Emerald Book. For example, the
claiming party must make their claim to the Engineer as soon as practicable, but in any case,
not later than 28 days after becoming aware (or should have been aware) of the event or
circumstances causing the claim (Clause 20.2.1). If they fail to make the claim within time
they are deemed to be not entitled to any additional payment. However, if the Engineer does
not take objection to an out of time claim within 14 days after receiving the Notice, then the
Notice is considered valid even though it is out of time. In this way the dynamics of Notice
and Claims is maintained while keeping the focus on the engineering events which underly
the Claims (Clause 20.2.2).
There is also a mechanism with strict time limits for providing the full details of the
Claim. In the case of excavation and lining Works it must be to the rates and prices in the Bill
of Quantities. Contemporary records are an essential component in substantiating a Claim and
have special weight in determining the Claim (Clause 20.2.3).

3. CONCLUSIONS
The Emerald Book marks a critical step change in global recognition of the importance of
ground conditions when apportioning risk in subsurface construction projects. The
collaborative multinational effort of FIDIC/ITA provides a transparent example of how
ground risks can be fairly and responsibly managed. This mechanism provides a framework
in which Contractors are rewarded for effort and punished for incompetence and Employers
gain the benefit of transparent risk sharing including reduced cost.
The global construction industry is highly stressed, in part due to the adoption of ill -
informed and unfair practices in the allocation of ground risk. Countries such as Australia are
testament to the consequences of unfair risk allocation contributing to local contracting
capacity having been severely impacted in the face of lawful but unfair ground risk allocation
in contractual practices by Clients.
In projects such as Snowy 2.0 in Australia there is evidence that more appropriate risk
sharing is finding its way into large underground infrastructure projects even before the
release of the Emerald book in May 2019. The world is likely in the process of rediscovering
the value of fair contracting practices and the Emerald Book is likely part of that renaissance
process.

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The Renaissance of Fairness in Ground Risk Allocation – The New Ita/Fidic Emerald Book

ITA’s continued objective is to cultivate a global appetite and culture for fair risk
apportionment in underground works.
A recalibration of focus on the substantive engineering and technical resolution of
disputes is a healthy sign that the resources of a project will be directed to achieving the
desired infrastructure outcome. The big winners of fairer Contracts will be our societies
because it will be easier to maintain competition in a market focused on engineering and not
gamesmanship and gambling about ground conditions. The use of global Contracts may also
provide some comfort to foreign lenders and Contractors considering doing business in
foreign countries. It is expected that ITA will collaborate with other global Contract providers
to provide new examples of fair risk allocation for other procurement strategies serving the
global underground construction demand.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Professor Dix initiated and championed the FIDIC/ITA Emerald Book collaboration and was
a joint Tutor and peer reviewer of the Emerald Book. Special acknowledgement also to the
founders of this project in 2012 being Arnold Dix ITA WG3 Animateur, Enrico Vink of
FIDIC and Martin Smith ITA WG3 Secretary. Special acknowledgment is also made of
FIDIC-ITA Task Group 10 under the Chairmanship of Matthias Neuenschwander whom
delivered the final Emerald Book 2019 Ed along with peer review and special GBR expertise
of Randall Essex, ITA.

REFERENCES
[1] FIDIC, the International Federation of Consulting Engineers, (the Fédération
Internationale des Ingénieurs-Conseils) is the global representative body for national
associations of consulting engineers.
[2] Founded in 1974, the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA)
aims to encourage the use of the subsurface for the benefit of public, environment and
sustainable development and to promote advances in planning, design, construction,
maintenance and safety of tunnels and underground space. ITA is supported by 75
Member Nations and 310 Affiliate Members.
[3] “The ITA Contractual Framework Checklist for Subsurface Construction Contracts”,
April 2011, ISBN 978-2-9700634-7-9.
[4] The Yellow Book in turn was published by FIDIC as an update of the FIDIC 1999
Conditions of Contract for Plant and Design-Build (Yellow Book), First Edition.
[5] Sir Harold Harding DSc, BSc (Eng), FEng, Presidential Address, Proceedings of the
Institution of Civil Engineers, November 1963.
[6] FIDIC., Opening Notes – Conditions for Contract for Underground Works – The Em erald
Book 2019 Ed.

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