The International Federation of Consulting Engineers and the International Tunneling and Underground Space Association (ITA-AITES) launched a new set of contract documents specifically tailored to the challenges of underground works that involve geologic uncertainty, including tunneling and foundations.
The groups released the documents, known as The Emerald Book, at the World Tunneling Congress, held in Naples, Italy, May 3-9. The book specifies allocating risk for underground conditions and groundwater to the project owner, while the contractor owns performance-related risk. It also includes an unforeseeable physical conditions clause as well as a contractual geotechnical baseline and alternative dispute avoidance and resolution, said Matthias Neuenschwander, chair of the book’s workgroup.