Silver Book vs Red Book, compared.
Turnkey EPC against traditional Employer-designed construction. Two different delivery philosophies with two different risk profiles — and getting the choice wrong is expensive on either side.
The FIDIC Red Book and Silver Book sit at opposite ends of the risk-allocation spectrum in the Rainbow Suite. Red is traditional construction under Employer design, with risk broadly shared. Silver is turnkey EPC with a substantial share of risk transferred to the Contractor in exchange for cost and time certainty.
They are used for different kinds of project, by different kinds of Employer, with different kinds of Contractor. This article compares them and helps you tell which is right for a given situation.
Two different delivery philosophies
The Red Book assumes the Employer wants to control the design and the Contractor executes construction against that design. An Engineer administers the contract. The commercial expectation is a re-measured, ongoing collaboration where risks are shared according to who is best placed to control them.
The Silver Book assumes the Employer wants a completed facility for a fixed price on a fixed date. The Contractor takes single-point responsibility for engineering, procurement and construction. There is no Engineer in the same sense; the Employer administers through an Employer's Representative. Risk is shifted to the Contractor because that is what the Employer is buying.
Side by side
| Dimension | Red Book | Silver Book |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Conditions of Contract for Construction | Conditions of Contract for EPC / Turnkey Projects |
| Delivery model | Construction against Employer's design | Engineering, Procurement and Construction as a single package |
| Design responsibility | Employer | Contractor, with fitness for purpose |
| Payment basis | Typically re-measured against Bill of Quantities | Lump sum |
| Contract administrator | Engineer (fair-between-parties on determinations) | Employer's Representative |
| Ground conditions risk | Shared; specific mechanism per edition | Largely Contractor's |
| Employer's Requirements errors | N/A (Employer designed) | Largely Contractor's risk |
| Grounds for EOT | Broader | Narrower |
| Price certainty for Employer | Lower; re-measured | High; lump sum |
| Typical projects | Roads, bridges, water networks, civil infrastructure | LNG, refineries, power plants, process facilities |
Why the Silver Book exists
The Silver Book was created for situations where the Employer wants price and time certainty above all else — typically because they are borrowing against the completed facility, or committing to sell its output at a fixed date. The classic case is a project-financed process plant: the lenders want to know what the facility will cost and when it will start earning revenue.
In exchange for that certainty, the Employer pays a risk premium and accepts that the Contractor will be less flexible on scope changes. The Engineer role is downgraded because ongoing determinations would erode the fixed-price commitment.
Why the Red Book exists
The Red Book exists for the majority of Employer-led infrastructure delivery, where the Employer has an in-house or consultant design team and wants a Contractor to build against a well-defined design. The Engineer role provides ongoing contract administration, and the re-measurement mechanism reflects the reality that quantities on civil works are rarely fully known at tender.
Choosing between them
- Who is best placed to control the risks? If the Contractor genuinely has the technology, delivery record and vendor relationships to price and manage the full EPC risk, Silver. If not, Red.
- How important is price certainty vs flexibility? If certainty dominates (project finance, fixed sale price), Silver. If flexibility dominates (evolving design, Employer-owned outcome), Red.
- What is the design status? Fully Employer-designed → Red. Contractor to design → Silver (or Yellow, depending on risk allocation).
On a Silver Book contract, the Contractor is paid to take risk the Employer does not want. If the Contractor cannot genuinely control that risk — because the technology is unfamiliar, or because it depends on inputs outside the Contractor's control — the contract becomes a claim-heavy nightmare for both sides.
Where to go next
The GSTPM FIDIC Contract Management course covers Red and Silver Books alongside Yellow and Green, with the risk-allocation logic mapped out for real projects.