Construction, EPC & FIDIC
Cross-Border Construction, Infrastructure & EPC Legal Advisory
Construction practice is shaped by a body of standardised contract forms developed across decades of international engineering practice — most notably the FIDIC suite — and applied across jurisdictions with limited substantive variation. The legal architecture is in practice transnational, even when the underlying project is local.
Mermeroglu Legal advises sponsors, contractors, employers and lenders across the lifecycle of construction projects, with particular emphasis on Turkish contractors operating internationally and on foreign sponsors developing projects in Türkiye, coordinating with applicable foreign law through experienced partners.
The firm advises project owners, contracting authorities, EPC and turnkey contractors, engineering firms, investors and financial institutions throughout the entire project lifecycle — from early-stage development and procurement planning to contract implementation, claims management, dispute resolution and international arbitration.
Standard Forms & Frameworks
- FIDIC — Red, Yellow, Silver & Gold Books
- NEC4 — Engineering & Construction Contract
- AIA & ConsensusDocs (US)
- VOB (Germany) & AS 4000 (Australia)
- ICC, LCIA, SIAC, ISTAC Arbitration Rules
- New York & ICSID Conventions
- World Bank & EBRD Procurement Rules
The Underlying Legal Logic
Construction practice is organised around the central legal artifact of the construction contract: a document that allocates risk between employer and contractor across time, money, design, performance and unknown circumstances. The complexity of any construction matter is determined by three fundamental questions — what is the contract form (FIDIC, NEC, AIA, bespoke); what is the project structure (lump sum, cost-plus, target cost, time and materials); and what is the dispute resolution architecture (DAB/DAAB, expert determination, mediation, arbitration).
The FIDIC family of contracts — published by the Fédération Internationale des Ingénieurs-Conseils — provides the most widely used framework for international construction projects. The FIDIC "Rainbow Suite" (Red Book for traditional employer-design, Yellow Book for design-build, Silver Book for EPC turnkey, Gold Book for design-build-operate) has been refined through successive editions, with the 1999 First Edition and the 2017 Second Edition both remaining in active use. Multilateral development banks, export credit agencies and many private sponsors mandate the use of FIDIC forms for their financed projects.
The substantive contractual architecture addresses time (the works programme, extension of time mechanisms, liquidated damages for delay), money (the contract price, variation valuation, cost reimbursement, claims for additional payment), quality (technical specifications, defects liability period, acceptance procedures) and risk allocation (force majeure, change in law, unforeseeable physical conditions). Each element is the subject of detailed contract drafting and substantial dispute resolution jurisprudence.
EPC & Construction Contract Structuring
Construction and EPC projects operate under diverse contractual regimes shaped by different legal traditions and market practices. Mermeroglu Legal advises on the structuring, negotiation and implementation of EPC, turnkey, design & build (D&B), EPCM and construction management contracts, ensuring that contractual frameworks are enforceable, bankable and aligned with mandatory local law.
The firm approaches construction contracts as integrated risk allocation mechanisms. Legal advisory focuses on maintaining consistency across the entire contract chain — main EPC contracts, subcontracts, supply agreements, consultancy contracts and joint venture arrangements — with particular attention to liability regimes, performance guarantees, delay and disruption risk, limitation of liability, termination rights and security mechanisms.
Standard Form Contracts & International Regimes
Mermeroglu Legal advises on the application and adaptation of internationally recognised standard construction contracts, including FIDIC, NEC and other widely used international and regional standard forms. Advisory work also covers construction regimes based on civil law, common law and hybrid legal systems.
Rather than applying standard forms mechanically, the firm adapts these frameworks to mandatory local legislation, public procurement rules, regulatory constraints and project-specific risk profiles — ensuring contractual enforceability, regulatory compliance and compatibility with project financing structures across jurisdictions.
Contract Management, Variations & Claims
Effective contract management is essential to preserving contractual rights and preventing disputes. Mermeroglu Legal provides ongoing contract management support, advising on change orders, variations, extension of time (EOT) requests, delay and disruption claims, acceleration measures and cost overrun claims. Legal advisory is coordinated with technical and financial input to ensure claims are legally sound, properly substantiated and commercially effective. The firm also advises on dispute avoidance mechanisms and structured negotiation strategies.
Joint Ventures, Consortia & Project Partnerships
Large-scale EPC projects frequently rely on joint ventures, consortia and multi-tier subcontracting structures. Mermeroglu Legal advises on the structuring and negotiation of joint venture and consortium agreements, SPV arrangements, governance mechanisms, decision-making procedures and exit provisions. Particular emphasis is placed on aligning applicable law, dispute resolution clauses and liability regimes between partnership agreements and the main project contract.
Project Structuring & Procurement Frameworks
International construction and EPC projects are commonly delivered through public procurement procedures, concession models, public–private partnerships (PPPs) or negotiated private contracts. Each delivery model imposes specific legal obligations concerning transparency, eligibility, tender procedures, risk allocation and remedies.
Mermeroglu Legal advises on international tender processes and procurement strategies, including legal feasibility assessments, review of tender documentation, bid preparation and participation, evaluation challenges and post-award remedies. The firm supports clients before contracting authorities, procurement review bodies and administrative courts, coordinating closely with local partner firms where jurisdiction-specific expertise is required.
Advisory work also covers donor-funded and development-bank-financed projects, where compliance with international procurement guidelines and financing conditions is critical to project validity and bankability.
Service Areas
Dispute Resolution & Arbitration
Construction and infrastructure projects are inherently exposed to dispute risk from delays, variations, regulatory intervention, termination and force majeure. The firm advises on dispute prevention at the structuring stage and represents clients in proceedings under leading institutional frameworks, integrating enforcement considerations from the outset.
Project Finance & Security
Construction projects are often financed through project finance structures requiring bankable contracts, security packages and financing condition compliance. The firm advises on aligning EPC contracts, performance bonds, guarantees and insurance arrangements with lender requirements and financing documentation.
Regulatory & Permits
Cross-border construction projects require navigation of complex regulatory frameworks including environmental permits, land use rights, local content requirements and sector-specific licences. The firm advises on regulatory strategy, permit structuring and compliance frameworks across jurisdictions.
Sectors in Which This Practice is Engaged
Construction practice is most intensive in sectors characterised by capital-intensive engineering projects. The principal sector intersections are as follows:
- Construction & Infrastructure — civil works, building construction, road and rail infrastructure and concession projects.
- Energy & Renewables and Oil & Gas — EPC contracts for power plants, refineries, pipelines, LNG facilities and renewable installations.
- Manufacturing & Industrial Products — industrial plant construction, process facilities and integrated manufacturing complexes.
- Mining & Metals — mining plant EPC, processing facility construction and mine infrastructure development.
- Real Estate & Hospitality — hotel construction, mixed-use development and large-scale residential and commercial projects.
- Transport & Logistics — port construction, airport development, rail systems and logistics infrastructure.
- Defense & Aerospace — defense industrial facility construction and aerospace manufacturing infrastructure.
- Technology, Media & Telecommunications — data centre construction, telecommunications infrastructure and technology campus development.
Comparative Jurisdictional Overview
Construction law frameworks vary across jurisdictions in the design of statutory protection for contractors, the framework for security of payment, the application of consumer protection and the procedural framework for construction disputes. Mermeroglu Legal advises on transactions engaging the legal and regulatory frameworks of the following principal construction jurisdictions, among others — with particular focus on the markets where Turkish contractors are most active across the Middle East, North and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caspian and Central Asia.
For detailed advice on jurisdictions not listed above — including emerging FDI regimes, country-specific screening procedures or jurisdiction-specific timing and filing requirements — please direct your enquiry through the firm's contact channels.
International and Regional Instruments
International construction work engages a layered framework of standard contract forms, dispute resolution rules and industry-issued standards. The most operationally significant include:
FIDIC Standard Forms
The principal international construction contract framework. The 1999 "Rainbow Suite" and the revised 2017 second editions are both in active use, alongside the 2022 Green Book Reprint, 2024 Subcontract Forms and 2022 Gold Book Second Edition.
NEC4 Standard Forms
Published by the Institution of Civil Engineers and widely used in the UK public sector and international infrastructure projects, the NEC4 suite emphasises early warning, programme management and collaborative working.
ICC & LCIA Arbitration Rules
The ICC Rules are the most frequently chosen procedural framework for international construction disputes, with the LCIA Rules a widely used alternative — particularly for FIDIC and English-law-governed contracts.
New York Convention (1958)
The principal instrument for enforcement of construction arbitration awards across jurisdictions, in force in over 170 States including Türkiye (since 1991) and the principal construction jurisdictions.
ICSID Convention (1965)
Where construction disputes engage state or state-owned counterparts and arise out of foreign investment, the ICSID Convention provides the procedural framework for investor-state arbitration.
Equator Principles & ISO 19650
The Equator Principles and IFC Performance Standards impose binding environmental and social obligations on project-financed works, while the ISO 19650 series provides the international framework for BIM-based digital project delivery.
Recent Decisions & Legislative Reform
Construction law jurisprudence and regulation in major jurisdictions have reshaped the framework for FIDIC contract interpretation, dispute resolution mechanics and post-completion liability over the past three years. Illustrative developments include:
- FIDIC "Notice of Dissatisfaction" jurisprudence (2023–2025) — decisions across Singapore, Switzerland and India on the operational requirements for valid notices following DAB/DAAB decisions, building on PT Perusahaan Gas Negara v. CRW.
- Triple Point Technology v. PTT (UK Supreme Court, 2021) — clarifying the application of liquidated damages following contract termination across UK and FIDIC-framework practice.
- English TCC "smash and grab" decisions (2023–2025) — refining payment notice procedures and the relationship between adjudication and final account determination under the HGCRA.
- Turkish Court of Cassation (2023–2025) — decisions on extension of time claims, décennale-equivalent liability under the Code of Obligations and contractor claims under public procurement contracts.
- UK — Building Safety Act 2022 — phased implementation through 2023–2026 introducing dutyholder responsibilities, gateway approvals and post-completion liability for higher-risk buildings.
- Saudi Arabia — Civil Transactions Law (Dec 2023) — codifying construction obligations and decennial liability, reshaping Vision 2030 and NEOM project documentation.
- Türkiye — Construction & building inspection reforms (2023–2025) — post-earthquake amendments to the Construction Code and risk-based building assessment procedures.
- International — FIDIC Climate Change Charter (2024) — the substantive framework for climate change risk allocation, addressing physical risk, transition risk and disclosure in construction documentation.
Our Approach
How Mermeroglu Legal Engages
Construction mandates routinely engage the law of the host state where the works are performed, the procedural law of the arbitration seat, the law applied by FIDIC and other standard form documentation and, in cross-border practice, the home jurisdiction of the contractor or sponsor. Our practice is structured to coordinate across those legal systems through a single point of accountability. We place particular emphasis on contemporaneous record-keeping — most construction disputes are won or lost on the documentary record built during the project — and treat disputes as multi-stage engagements across the DAB/DAAB, negotiation, arbitration and enforcement phases.
- Structuring bankable, enforceable EPC and construction contracts
- Managing claims, variations and disputes across the project lifecycle
- Coordinating legal strategy across procurement, finance and regulatory regimes
Discuss Your Project
Contact us to discuss construction, EPC or infrastructure legal matters and how we can support your project across jurisdictions.
Get in Touch →