Roads, water schemes, power plants, buildings and ports across Africa are increasingly procured on FIDIC conditions, often with development bank funding that insists on their correct use. Yet projects regularly overrun and end in arbitration because the parties treat the contract as a formality at signing and a weapon at the end. Strict notice periods, evidence requirements and the Engineer's duties mean that poor administration can cost a party its rights even where its case is sound.

This applied programme concentrates on running the contract day to day. Participants study the structure of the main FIDIC forms, the general conditions and particular conditions, order of precedence, and the duties and authority of each party. They examine commencement, programme, delays and extension of time, variations and adjustments, measurement and valuation, interim payment certificates, taking over, defects liability, termination and the claims and dispute provisions. Particular emphasis falls on record keeping, correspondence discipline and the contract administration systems that make compliance routine.

The teaching style is practical. Delegates work through realistic project correspondence, draft notices and claim submissions, and take part in a mock Engineer determination. They finish with a contract administration checklist customised to their own projects.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Describe the structure, risk allocation and order of precedence in the main FIDIC contract forms.
• Define the roles, duties and limits of authority of the Employer, Engineer and Contractor.
• Prepare and respond to notices within the required time limits.
• Manage programme, delay and extension of time entitlement using sound records.
• Value and process variations, interim payments and final accounts.
• Prepare, review and determine claims for time and money.
• Use dispute avoidance tools and understand adjudication and arbitration steps.
• Set up a contract administration system with registers, templates and audit trails.

The programme serves people who prepare, administer or review works contracts, including:

• Contract managers and contract administrators
• Quantity surveyors and cost engineers
• Resident engineers and engineer's representatives
• Project managers in government, parastatals and utilities
• Contractors' commercial and site managers
• Procurement and legal officers on infrastructure projects
• Donor-funded project implementation unit staff
• Consultants and supervising firms
• Internal auditors reviewing capital projects

Delegates leave the programme equipped with:

• A contract administration calendar showing notice and response deadlines.
• Templates for notices, instructions, variation orders and claim submissions.
• A method for assessing extension of time and cost entitlement.
• A project records checklist that supports claims and defence.
• A checklist for preparing an Engineer's fair determination.
• A clearer view of the steps from disagreement to adjudication.

The workshop approach is about doing contract administration, not just reading clauses:

• Clause walk-throughs tied to a running road or building project example
• Correspondence bundles where delegates spot missed notices and weak records
• Drafting clinics for notices, instructions and claims
• A mock determination and adjudication referral
• Group review of delegates' own contract problems

Attendance at the sessions and completion of the drafting and determination exercises earns each delegate a CPD-accredited Certificate of Completion issued by Vision Reach Global Consultancy. FIDIC itself does not certify this programme.