FIDIC Extension of Time Claims

FIDIC and time

The FIDIC suite of contracts is among the most widely used internationally, including across the UAE and wider GCC. Its clauses set out both the events that entitle a contractor to an Extension of Time and the procedure that must be followed to secure one. Understanding both halves — entitlement and procedure — is what separates a claim that succeeds from one that is technically correct but procedurally lost.

Notice comes first

FIDIC forms are known for their notice and time-bar provisions: a claim must generally be notified within a defined period of the contractor becoming aware of the event. This is the single most common way a meritorious claim fails — not because the delay wasn’t real, but because it wasn’t notified in time. Good contract administration treats notices as part of the claim, not paperwork.

Entitlement follows the critical path

Once procedure is satisfied, entitlement is a delay-analysis question: did the event delay completion, traced along the critical path of the programme current at the time? FIDIC does not change that logic — it is assessed with the same Time Impact Analysis and forensic methods as any other EOT claim, and with the same honesty about concurrent delay.

Records, again

FIDIC’s emphasis on programmes, progress reporting and records is not bureaucracy — it is the evidence base a claim stands on. The contractor who keeps a proper contemporaneous record is the one whose claim survives assessment, as the discipline in how to assess an EOT claim shows from the reviewer’s side.

This is a general explanation of professional practice under standard-form contracts, not legal advice or an interpretation of any specific FIDIC edition.