FIDIC (the International Federation of Consulting Engineers) has signed a major translation and publishing licence agreement with Beijing-based China Machine Press, which will enable FIDIC construction contracts and other key documentation to be translated and published in Chinese.

The ten-year deal will help to widen the dissemination of FIDIC publications in the Chinese market and due to increased Chinese investment in international markets, the move will also provide a harmonised approach allowing Chinese consultants and contractors to better comprehend FIDIC contracts in their local language enabling them to use the market-leading documents internationally. The translation of the FIDIC standard form of contracts will be bilingual, so helping international parties to collaborate in an increasingly globalised world.

Commenting on the signing of the agreement, FIDIC chief executive Dr Nelson Ogunshakin said: “This agreement is a major landmark in FIDIC’s aspiration to have the FIDIC 2017 suites of contracts as the foremost infrastructure, engineering and construction procurement contracts adopted in the largest populated country in the world, with the potential to become global standards.

“By signing an agreement with China Machine Press, we are able to secure translation and publication of our standard contracts in one of the key five strategic languages demanded by the six largest multilateral development banks – the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Caribbean Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank and the African Development Bank, all of whom have recently adopted the FIDIC 2017 contracts for their investment in infrastructure projects across their operating countries.”

Ogunshakin said that the move complemented FIDIC’s recent strategic collaborations with a number of Chinese engineering consultants and contracting associations designed to ensure that FIDIC contracts are adopted on the Belt and Road Initiative, the Chinese government’s global development strategy involving infrastructure development and investments in 152 countries and international organisations in Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas.

“The ten-year agreement with China Machine Press is good news for FIDIC and totally in line with our future planned operations in China. Once again, FIDIC is creating a platform where best practice documents in the consulting engineering and construction arena can improve collaboration and communication to achieve better project implementation and successful outcomes in terms of design quality, sustainability, value for money and transparency,” Ogunshakin said.