Design & Build in the UAE: The benefits

Clients are always looking to find ways to minimise the construction duration and their exposure to risk, and Design & Build contracts could hold the key. As the construction market in the GCC, and more specifically the UAE, becomes increasingly more sophisticated, clients are employing different procurement strategies to enable them to not only get in the ground as soon as possible, but also to minimise their exposure to risk. A major source of this risk is the traditional FIDIC contract, which is employed most commonly in the region. Whilst it is possible to achieve the benefits normally associated with Design & Build through the traditional FIDIC contract, the apparent frustration experienced by some of our clients with their existing traditional contracts with main contractors - where architects, engineers or project managers act as the engineer of the contract, indicates that it's rare. Typically it takes an architect and main contractor decades of working together before they reach such efficiency with communication, mutual respect and trust. The recently completed Foremarke School, is one such example, where BSBG and Multiplex worked through a traditional contract and the client, Evolvence, enjoyed the benefits of Design & Build.