Construction Contracts Best Practice Rewarded, as Winners of 2022 FIDIC Contract Users’ Awards Unveiled

The winners of the 2022 FIDIC Contract Users’ Awards have been announced at a high-profile awards ceremony in London on 29 November 2022. The awards, now in their fourth year, recognise excellence in the use of FIDIC contract forms for project delivery and showcase examples of good practice through collaboration from across the world.   From a diverse, global shortlist, the judging panel, chaired by international judge and arbitrator Sir Vivian Ramsey, chose winners in a number of categories including Project of the Year, Client of the Year, Legal Firm of the Year and Trainer of the Year.   The winners were unveiled at a gala dinner event on Tuesday 29 November 2022 at the Tower Hotel in London as part of the Official FIDIC International Contract Users' Conference. Speaking at the event, the chair of the judging panel Sir Vivian Ramsey said: “These awards are the awards for the FIDIC contracts community and I was pleased to see such a diverse range of entries over a wide geographical spread. In this, the awards’ fourth year, I was delighted to see that the high quality of entries is being maintained and, in some cases, exceeded.”   The full list of winners in the 2022 FIDIC Contract Users’ Awards are listed below, together with judges’ comments for the winning entries.

 

Project of the Year   Winner - Design and Construction of La Mesa Water Treatment Plant 1 (LMTP1) in the Philippines.   Client: Maynilad Water Services. Contractor: Sta Clara – JFE. Consortium engineer: Arup.   The judges were impressed by a project where the client was looking to improve a water treatment plant to accommodate increasing ranges of incoming water quality and also so improve resilience to handle potential earthquake related impacts. The judges said that this was a very successful project which used the FIDIC Yellow Book contract. Claims and variations were finalised in a timely fashion, even during the challenging period of the pandemic, and there were strong sustainability measures, including solar panels to generate renewable energy. The judges praised the good work of the engineer and also the contractor.  

Highly Commended - Pokuase Interchange and Local Roads Project in Ghana.

  Client: Ministry of Roads and Highways, Ghana. Contractor: Zhongmei Engineering Group. Engineer: Associated Consultants Limited.   Client of the Year   Winner - Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd.   The judges were impressed by the wide range of amazing projects undertaken by this client, their selection of contractors and consultants which followed well known ways of procurement and their use of FIDIC contracts, especially the Yellow Book. The client is sponsoring a large rail freight network providing a more sustainable alternative to alleviate road travel around the country where they work.   Trainer of the Year   Winner - Salvador P Castro Jr.  

The judges said that Castro was a worthy winner of the Trainer of the Year Award. It was clear from his entry and the endorsements it contained that people were really learning and enjoying their learning when being trained by him. His innovative presentation and passion about teaching shines through. Not only did the winner rise to the challenge of training during the Covid pandemic, but they also did so through innovative and interesting methods which captivated and engaged his audiences. The judges were additionally impressed with the winner’s flexibility and the way they adapted their training to enhance the experience of attendees. 

  Legal Firm of the Year   Winner - Fenwick Elliott LLP.   The judges said that from a user perspective, this firm was very active in educating the whole industry on legal issues. Going above and beyond the norm, the firm has strength in many areas, especially in education and training on FIDIC contracts. This is a firm that is proactive across different regions of the world, said the judges, and their involvement in initiatives like the FIDIC Summer School was particularly commended. This is also a firm with extensive and thorough experience in all continents and one which works with clients to avoid disputes.   Highly Commended - Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP.   Commenting on the awards, FIDIC CEO Dr Nelson Ogunshakin said: “As our industry finally emerges from the challenges of the global pandemic, it was really heartening to see award entries that demonstrate the increasing global use of FIDIC contracts and the influential role that they play in the global industry.   “The fourth year of these FIDIC Contract Users’ Awards I think really establishes them as a key part of the industry’s global events calendar. They are so important in raising the profile of FIDIC contracts and those who use them and I am delighted that we have brought together the global contract user community in person to celebrate excellence and good practice.”

 

FIDIC, the International Federation of Consulting Engineers, is the global representative body for national associations of consulting engineers and represents over one million engineering professionals and 40,000 firms in more than 100 countries worldwide. The buildings and infrastructure sector in which FIDIC members work contributes around US$36trillion to global GDP.