Standing FIDIC advisory
for contractors on live
international projects.
Most construction disputes are not lost in the hearing room. They are lost in the months before — through missed notices, poorly structured claim records, and entitlement positions that were never properly developed. A project advisory retainer puts experienced FIDIC claims support alongside your team from the start, not after the damage is done.
Proactive claims support
throughout project delivery.
On international infrastructure projects under FIDIC, the contractual machinery runs continuously. Notices must be served within defined time limits. Claims must be particularised and supported by contemporaneous records. Engineer determinations must be assessed and responded to. Programme obligations must be maintained and documented. Each of these activities has direct consequences for entitlement — and for what can be recovered if a dispute later arises.
The Equitas project advisory retainer embeds experienced FIDIC claims support into your project team on a standing monthly basis. It is designed for contractors who want specialist claims management throughout delivery — not only when a formal dispute has already been referred.
Our retainer clients receive monthly advisory calls, document review, correspondence guidance, EOT and quantum claim development support, and on-call access for urgent matters. The service is delivered in the language your team works in — English, Turkish or Russian — and scales to the complexity and claims activity of the project.
“The value of claims expertise on a project is highest before the dispute arises. By the time a matter reaches formal proceedings, the record is fixed — and the quality of that record depends entirely on what happened during delivery.”
A project advisory retainer is an investment in the quality of your claims position — built month by month through disciplined notice management, contemporaneous record keeping and structured entitlement development.
The gap between contract administration
and claims-ready project management.
Most project teams manage delivery well. Few have the specialised FIDIC claims expertise to manage entitlement in parallel — and the cost of that gap compounds throughout the project life.
Project teams focus on delivery. FIDIC claims obligations — notices, time bars, Engineer responses — are handled reactively or missed entirely. By the time a dispute consultant is engaged, the record is incomplete, entitlements have been lost and the Engineer’s position has solidified.
- Sub-Clause 20.2 notices served late or not at all
- EOT claims submitted without adequate contemporaneous support
- Engineer determinations accepted by default or challenged too late
- Quantum claims assembled under arbitration pressure with incomplete records
- Commercial team lacks FIDIC fluency in the relevant procedural language
- Dispute consultant engaged when entitlement is already compromised
Experienced FIDIC claims support runs alongside the project from contract award. Notices are reviewed before they are served. Claims are developed contemporaneously. Engineer conduct is monitored and responded to in real time. The record that reaches any dispute forum is complete, properly structured and credible.
- All delay and change events assessed for notice obligations as they arise
- EOT claims built contemporaneously with programme and cost records
- Engineer determinations reviewed, challenged or accepted with strategic intent
- Monthly claims register — live position on all live claims and time bar exposures
- Advisory delivered in English, Turkish or Russian — no language disadvantage
- DAAB strategy developed in advance if dispute trajectory is clear
What the retainer
includes each month.
The retainer is structured around six core activities, delivered on a standing monthly basis and adjusted to the claims intensity of the project at each stage.
A structured monthly call reviewing project progress, delay events, variation activity, Engineer conduct and correspondence. Delivered in English, Turkish or Russian according to the team’s preference.
Core monthly serviceReview and comment on all draft notices, claims correspondence, responses to Engineer instructions and other contractually significant communications before they are issued. Flags time bar exposures and recommends framing.
Core monthly serviceStructured development of extension of time entitlement throughout the project — not just at the end. Covers delay event identification, critical path analysis, programme records and contemporaneous cost build-up for prolongation.
Core monthly serviceReview of Engineer determinations and instructions as issued. Assessment of whether to accept, negotiate or challenge. Where challenge is appropriate, support in preparing the contractual response and escalation strategy.
Core monthly serviceMonthly written summary of the project’s claims position — all live claims, current entitlement assessment, time bar status, recommended actions and risk flags. Suitable for reporting to senior management and legal advisors.
Core monthly serviceDirect access via phone and email for urgent matters arising between monthly calls — time bar risks, unexpected Engineer determinations, termination notices. Committed response within 24 hours for flagged urgent matters.
Standing availabilityInternational contractors
where FIDIC claims management matters.
The project advisory retainer is designed for contractors, joint ventures and project companies executing works under FIDIC contracts on major international infrastructure and engineering projects — particularly where the project involves complex delay and quantum issues, significant variation activity or a commercially adversarial relationship with the Engineer or Employer.
It is particularly well-suited to contractors operating across linguistic boundaries — where the contract, the Engineer and the dispute forum operate in English, but the contractor’s internal team works in Turkish, Russian or another language. In those contexts, the combination of FIDIC claims expertise and multilingual advisory capability removes a structural disadvantage that affects both the quality of claims and the credibility of positions presented to the Engineer and any dispute tribunal.
The retainer is not a project management or site supervision service. It is a specialist claims and contractual advisory service, operating at the interface between project delivery and dispute preparation.
Executing a major infrastructure contract under FIDIC Red or Yellow Book — road, rail, water, power or port — where delay and variation exposure is material and the Employer or Engineer is commercially aggressive.
Multi-party contractor consortium on a World Bank, AfDB, EBRD or ADB-funded project where FIDIC MDB Pink Book applies and the disputes resolution machinery includes a DAAB provision.
Turkish, Kazakhstani, Uzbek or other CIS contractor operating on international FIDIC projects in Africa, the Middle East or Europe — requiring English-language FIDIC claims support delivered with Turkish or Russian fluency.
First- or second-tier subcontractor with significant delay or variation exposure under a back-to-back or FIDIC-derived subcontract, requiring claims support to protect and advance entitlement against the main contractor.
Getting the retainer
in place on your project.
We begin with a focused review of the contract form, project particulars, current claims position and team structure. This allows us to calibrate the service scope and confirm there are no conflicts before engagement is formalised.
A concise engagement letter sets out scope, monthly fee, response commitments, confidentiality obligations and the minimum engagement term. Minimum term is six months; project-life engagements are preferred and reflect the compounding value of continuous claims support.
We review the contract documents, programme, correspondence history and existing claims record. We establish the communication protocol — preferred contact method, call schedule, document exchange format — and brief our understanding back to the commercial team.
From month one: monthly review call, document review, claims register update, and on-call availability. The scope adjusts as project phases shift — we increase focus on EOT development during programme-critical periods and DAAB preparation if a formal dispute approaches.
Where a retainer client’s matter progresses to formal DAAB proceedings or arbitration, Equitas can continue in an advisory capacity alongside the legal team, or accept instruction as a delay or quantum expert. The project knowledge already built through the retainer means expert engagement begins from a position of informed familiarity with the facts — which is a material advantage in any dispute forum.
Retainer scope structured
around project complexity.
The retainer is calibrated to the scale and claims intensity of the project. Fees are agreed at onboarding and reviewed periodically as the project evolves.
- Monthly review call — claims position, live notices, strategy
- Review of notices or documents per month
- Claims register — monthly written update
- Engineer determination assessment on request
- Email advisory on urgent matters
- English, Turkish or Russian delivery
Suited to projects under £15m contract value or projects in low-intensity phases where major claims have not yet crystallised.
- Monthly review call — full claims review, strategy and advisory session
- Unlimited notice and correspondence review
- Full EOT claim development — contemporaneous
- Claims register — detailed monthly written report
- Engineer determination assessment and response support
- DAAB strategy advisory
- On-call urgent advisory
- English, Turkish or Russian delivery
The standard tier for major international infrastructure projects in active delivery phase with concurrent delay and variation exposure.
- All services in Active Claims Advisory
- Fortnightly calls during high-intensity periods
- Full claim document preparation support
- Quantum build-up and prolongation cost structuring
- DAAB referral preparation and statement support
- Coordination with instructed legal advisors
- Seamless transition to expert appointment if required
For projects where a formal DAAB referral or arbitration is likely — ensuring the claims record is complete and the contractual position is properly prepared for dispute proceedings.
The expertise behind
the retainer service.
The Equitas project advisory retainer draws on the same analytical discipline and FIDIC expertise that underpins our expert witness and arbitration practice. Retainer clients benefit not only from claims management support, but from the perspective of an advisor who has analysed how disputed claims are assessed in formal proceedings — and can therefore build claims records that are substantive, not merely procedurally compliant.
Our FIDIC experience spans the full rainbow suite across major international arbitration forums including ICC, LCIA, DIAC, ISTAC and ICSID, and dispute board proceedings on projects funded by the World Bank, AfDB, EBRD, ADB and Islamic Development Bank. That depth of formal dispute experience directly informs how we advise during delivery — because we understand what decision-makers look for and what records actually withstand scrutiny.
Where a retainer client ultimately requires expert evidence in formal proceedings, the transition from advisory to expert role is straightforward — subject to appropriate conflict checks — and eliminates the costly briefing process that consumes time and resource when an external expert encounters a matter for the first time.
“We do not advise contractors to build claims they cannot properly support. We advise them to build claims records that accurately reflect what happened — because that is what protects entitlement when it matters.”
The same independence and rigour that governs our expert witness work applies to retainer advisory. We will not recommend positions that go beyond what the contract and the facts can sustain — but we will ensure those positions are developed to their full potential from the evidence available.
Discuss your project with Equitas.
Contact us to review the contract, the project context and how a retainer could be structured to match your claims management requirements and project timeline.