Project AssureWhen to bring in an EOT claim consultant · and why timing decides it
A decision guide for owners and contractors in the UAE and GCC: the signals it's time to engage an independent extension-of-time and delay consultant.
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Dispute Avoidance & Resolution Support
Avoid what you can. Evidence what you cannot.
Many construction disputes turn on what was recorded, and notified, in the first months of a problem. We help owners, contractors and their counsel keep entitlement visible, settle what can be settled, and put clear delay evidence, and the link to quantum, before a dispute board or tribunal when it cannot. We support one party throughout and never act as mediator, adjudicator or arbitrator.
Avoid. Negotiate. Evidence.
In brief
What is dispute avoidance & resolution support?
Dispute avoidance and resolution support is technical help for one party to a construction or infrastructure contract, from the first advance warning to an arbitral hearing. It covers notices, claims and counter-claims, position papers, negotiation packs, dispute board submissions and delay analysis for counsel. Project Assure supports the client and its counsel. It does not act as mediator or arbitrator.
What we deliver
Dispute Avoidance & Resolution Support services
- Dispute-avoidance health checkNotices, registers, programme updates and site records reviewed against the contract's time bars. Gaps flagged while they can still be closed.
- Claims and counter-claimsExtension of time, prolongation and disruption claims prepared or rebutted, each event tied to a clause and the contemporaneous record.
- Position papersShort papers for senior representatives or the Engineer setting out the facts, the entitlement and the realistic range of outcomes.
- Without-prejudice negotiation supportSettlement analysis and negotiation packs, prepared with your counsel, showing where your position is strong and where it is exposed.
- DAAB and dispute board submissionsReferrals, responses and site-visit briefings under FIDIC 2017 Clause 21, planned around the board's 84-day decision period.
- Delay analysis for counselProgramme and delay analysis prepared with your counsel for adjudication, mediation or arbitration, built on the contemporaneous record.
- Quantum interfaceDelay findings aligned with the quantum analysis, so time and money claimed rest on one chronology and one set of facts.
Method
The dispute ladder, with support at every rung
AvoidAdvance warnings given, the programme kept current and records kept to a claims standard. We review registers and flag entitlement before it hardens into a dispute.
NotifyNotices issued on time with the contractual basis stated. Under FIDIC 2017 a Notice of Claim is due no later than 28 days after the party became aware, or should have become aware, of the event, and the fully detailed Claim within 84 days. We draft and check both.
NegotiatePosition papers, submissions for the Engineer's determination and without-prejudice settlement packs. We test your case against the other side's best answer before the meeting, not after it.
EscalateReferral to a DAAB, dispute board or mediation. A FIDIC 2017 DAAB decides within 84 days, and a party that disagrees has 28 days to give a notice of dissatisfaction. We prepare the referral, the evidence and the briefing.
DetermineArbitration or litigation. We support your counsel with delay analysis, responses to the other side's analysis and hearing preparation.
Independence
Two roles, kept separate.
Clients appoint us in one of two roles, and we never combine them on the same matter.
Party-appointed support
We analyse the records, build the programme and delay evidence, and help you and your counsel prepare and test your position. The analysis is built so the other side can test it.
Independent expert
Where we are appointed as an expert, our duty is to the tribunal or board, agreed in a separate appointment. We do not act as advocate on that matter, and our conclusions do not change with the party that appoints us.
We check for conflicts before accepting any appointment.
Our role
Support, not a neutral.
Project Assure supports one party and its counsel. It is not an accredited mediator and does not act as a neutral, mediator, adjudicator or arbitrator.
Clients
Who we support.
- Owners and employers responding to claims or preparing counter-claims
- Contractors and subcontractors preparing notices, claims and DAAB referrals
- Counsel needing programme, delay and quantum interface evidence for adjudication, mediation or arbitration
FIDIC 2017
The claims and DAAB timetable at a glance.
| Step | Period | Clause |
|---|---|---|
| Notice of Claim | No later than 28 days after becoming aware, or when the party should have become aware, of the event | Sub-Clause 20.2.1 |
| Fully detailed Claim | Within 84 days of awareness, or as agreed | Sub-Clause 20.2.4 |
| DAAB decision | Within 84 days of referral, or as agreed | Sub-Clause 21.4 |
| Notice of dissatisfaction with DAAB decision | Within 28 days of receiving the decision | Sub-Clause 21.4 |
General Conditions periods. Particular Conditions often change them, so check the contract.
Standards and practice
The standards we work to
International
- FIDIC Conditions of Contract for Construction (Red Book), Second Edition 2017, reprinted 2022 with amendments: Clause 20 (Employer's and Contractor's Claims) and Clause 21 (Disputes and Arbitration)
- FIDIC Conditions of Contract for Construction (Red Book), First Edition 1999: Clause 20 (Claims, Disputes and Arbitration)
- FIDIC Golden Principles (2019)
- NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract (2017): Options W1, W2 and W3 (Dispute Avoidance Board)
- SCL Delay and Disruption Protocol, 2nd Edition (2017)
- AACE International Recommended Practice 29R-03, Forensic Schedule Analysis (2011)
- IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration (2020)
India
- Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (as amended in 2015, 2019 and 2021)
- Mediation Act, 2023 (No. 32 of 2023)
- Commercial Courts Act, 2015: Section 12A (pre-institution mediation)
- Ministry of Finance, Guidelines for Arbitration and Mediation in Contracts of Domestic Public Procurement (June 2024)
GCC
- UAE Federal Law No. 6 of 2018 on Arbitration, as amended by Federal Decree-Law No. 15 of 2023
- UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 40 of 2023 on Mediation and Conciliation in Civil and Commercial Disputes
- DIAC Arbitration Rules 2022 and DIAC Mediation Rules 2023 (Dubai International Arbitration Centre)
- arbitrateAD Arbitration Rules 2024 (Abu Dhabi International Arbitration Centre)
- Saudi Arabia Arbitration Law, Royal Decree No. M/34 (1433H, 2012)
- SCCA Arbitration Rules 2023 (Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration)
- Saudi Arabia Civil Transactions Law, Royal Decree No. M/191 (2023)
- Saudi Arabia Government Tenders and Procurement Law, Royal Decree No. M/76 (27/2/1448H, 10 August 2026), published in the Umm Al-Qura Official Gazette on 4 September 2026, taking effect 120 days after publication (Article 101)
- Saudi Arabia Government Tenders and Procurement Law, Royal Decree No. M/128 (1440H, 2019), in force until the new law takes effect and still governing works tendered under it
- Oman Arbitration Law, Royal Decree No. 47/97
- Oman Commercial Arbitration Centre Arbitration Rules (2020) and Mediation Rules (2021)
Regional practice
Dispute Avoidance & Resolution Support in India and the GCC
India
Ministry of Finance guidelines of 3 June 2024 advise against routine arbitration clauses in public procurement, suggest limiting arbitration to disputes below Rs 10 crore unless approved at senior level, and encourage negotiated settlement and mediation, with a High-Level Committee for high-value matters. Arbitration under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 remains the route to a binding award, and commercial suits generally need pre-institution mediation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015. We prepare the programme and delay evidence each of these stages needs, aligned with the quantum, working with your counsel, who advise on the law.
United Arab Emirates
Many UAE works contracts are FIDIC-based, and Particular Conditions often limit or remove the dispute board, so notices and records carry more weight. Arbitrations are commonly referred to DIAC under its 2022 Rules or to arbitrateAD under its 2024 Rules, seated onshore under Federal Law No. 6 of 2018 or in the DIFC or ADGM.
Saudi Arabia
Since December 2023 the Civil Transactions Law has allowed a construction contract's balance to be restored, or the contract ended, where unforeseeable general exceptional circumstances upset it, which puts the contemporaneous record at the centre of any claim. Under Saudi Arabia's new Government Tenders and Procurement Law, bid grievances and price-adjustment requests go to a Ministry of Finance committee whose decisions bind the government entity, compensation claims for owner breach go to the competent court and arbitration needs the Minister's approval, so we confirm the tender date, which sets the governing law, with your counsel before a claim or referral is framed. SCCA arbitrations filed since 1 May 2023 run under the SCCA's 2023 Rules, and we can support clients and their counsel in court or in arbitration. See what the new procurement law changes.
Oman
Many public works contracts in Oman use the government's 2019 standard form for building and civil engineering works. It is based on the 1999 FIDIC Red Book, has no dispute adjudication board and allows court litigation where elected. That moves more weight onto notices, records and negotiation before a dispute reaches the courts or arbitration, whether ad hoc or at the Oman Commercial Arbitration Centre, under Royal Decree 47/97 as amended. In Oman our dispute reference is Hafeet Rail, where a forensic windows analysis separated design-change impacts from concurrent contractor causes and set out a substantiated EOT entitlement. At bid stage, on the Barka waste-to-energy IPP, we reviewed risk allocation against the FIDIC Silver Book before tender commitments were made, which is where disputes are cheapest to avoid.
Our approach
How we approach dispute avoidance & resolution support
We work from the contract and the contemporaneous record, not from the outcome a client hopes for. Every rung of the ladder uses the same chronology and the same delay findings, so a position paper written early still holds at a hearing. Counsel leads on legal strategy; we provide the programme, delay and quantum interface evidence. Where a case is weak, we say so early, while settlement is still cheap.
Experience
Related projects
Hafeet Rail
EOT entitlement and forensic windows analysis on a major rail programme in dispute.
- Forensic windows analysis produced
- Design-change impacts separated from concurrent contractor causes
- EOT entitlement structured and substantiated
Barka waste-to-energy IPP
Bid assurance on a waste-to-energy bid whose tender commitments would bind for 25 years.
- Bid programme stress-tested against design and permit lead times
- Risk allocation reviewed against FIDIC Silver Book
- Commercially defensible position established
Insights
Further reading
NEC4 vs FIDIC EOT claims: what actually differs
NEC4 and FIDIC both lead to an extension of time, but notice regimes, time-bars and assessment differ in ways that decide entitlement.
ReadFIDIC claims: how prolongation and disruption quantum is actually proved
How prolongation and disruption quantum is actually proved under FIDIC, records, methods and the delay foundation that makes a claim defensible.
ReadFAQ
Dispute Avoidance & Resolution Support: common questions
Does Project Assure act as a mediator or arbitrator?
No. Project Assure is not an accredited mediator and does not act as a neutral, mediator, adjudicator or arbitrator. We support one party, and its counsel, with the programme and delay evidence a dispute turns on, aligned with the quantum. An independent expert witness owes a duty to the tribunal, so that role is agreed separately and never combined with advocacy support.
When should we bring in dispute avoidance support?
Early, ideally when the first advance warning or notice is due rather than after a claim has been rejected. Entitlement is often won or lost on the notices and records kept in the first months of a problem. Early support costs less, keeps settlement open and means any later evidence is built on a record made at the time.
What does a FIDIC 2017 DAAB referral involve?
It puts a dispute before the Dispute Avoidance/Adjudication Board under Clause 21, which gives a reasoned decision within 84 days unless the parties agree another period. A party that disagrees must give a notice of dissatisfaction within 28 days. We prepare the referral or response, the delay analysis and the briefing material with your team and counsel.
How do you work with our lawyers?
Alongside them. Your counsel leads on legal strategy, procedure and the law; we provide the technical analysis, from chronology and entitlement to delay findings and the link to quantum. On contested matters we usually take instructions through counsel, so legal and technical work stay aligned and each submission says the same thing from first notice to hearing.
How do the Mediation Act 2023 and the Arbitration Act affect construction disputes in India?India
They set the frame, and your counsel advises on them. The Mediation Act, 2023 promotes mediation, and the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (as amended) governs arbitration. For public procurement, Ministry of Finance guidelines issued in June 2024 limit routine arbitration and encourage negotiation and mediation. From Chennai, we prepare the delay evidence and the link to quantum for whichever forum applies.
Do you support DIAC and arbitrateAD arbitrations in the UAE?UAE
Yes. We can support you and your counsel in arbitrations under the DIAC Arbitration Rules 2022 or the arbitrateAD Arbitration Rules 2024, and earlier at dispute board stage where the contract keeps one. In either forum we provide the programme and delay evidence, built from the contemporaneous record and aligned with the quantum.
Can a Saudi government construction contract go to SCCA arbitration?Saudi Arabia
Yes, with approval. Under Article 94 of the new Government Tenders and Procurement Law, arbitration, including at the SCCA, needs the Minister of Finance's approval. The tender date decides which law applies, so confirm it with counsel first. Whatever the forum, we build programme and delay evidence from the contemporaneous record.
What is different about disputes on Omani public works contracts?Oman
Mainly the absence of a dispute board. Many public works contracts use the government's 2019 standard form, based on the 1999 FIDIC Red Book, which has no dispute adjudication board and allows court litigation where elected. More therefore rests on notices, records and negotiation. On Hafeet Rail in Oman, our forensic windows analysis separated design-change impacts from concurrent contractor causes. We support clients and their counsel in whichever forum the contract names.
Facing a notice deadline or a referral?
Send us the contract form, the stage you are at and the next deadline. A principal replies within one working day with a view on what the record supports.