Reconstruction can be planned in many ways.

Every client goes for the project implementation mechanism that they think optimal in view of the timeframe, budget, and complexity of the facility.

To speed up restoration of infrastructure facilities, in 2023, the Ukrainian government initiated introduction of the international practice Design-Build as part of pilot projects.

What the approach consists in

Traditionally, projects are delivered in two stages:
first the design documentation is elaborated, and then there is a separate procurement of construction work.

The Design-Build mechanism provides for the other model, namely a single turn-key contract under which the contractor fulfills both design and construction.

Such approach has been used globally to deliver large infrastructure facilities fir a long time. Its advantages include:

• shorter implementation period;
• responsibility concentrated in one structure;
• fewer procedural gaps between the stages;
• clearer risk allocation.

Why this is important for Ukraine

In the context of large-scale reconstruction, the matter of time and risk management become critical. That is why the governmental experiment aims at testing how effective this model can be in the Ukrainian conditions.

It is not only about quickness.
It is about a possibility to deliver complex projects within forecast timeframes and with clearly defined liability.

Relation to international standards

The Design-Build model is often based on international contract forms, particularly FIDIC.

They allow:

• settling down the risk allocation between the client and contractor;
• determine the mechanisms of cost and deadline alteration;
• the oversight and commissioning procedures.

At the same time, introducing such mechanisms required adaptation to the national legislation and budget-allocation procedures.

Role of process management

The Interstate Consultants Engineers Guild highlights that professional process management is getting especially important in the very format of Design-Build.

When design and construction are combined in one contract, the risk concentration is growing, including technical, financial, and temporal. That is why engagement of the consulting engineer in such projects significantly reduces the probability of mistakes at the preparation and realization stage.

It goes not about additional control but:

• distinct distribution of roles;
• coordination among the parties;
• change management;
• predictability of the output.

Such approach meets the general logic of recovery as a management process and not merely doing the construction work.

The Design-Build experiment can be a step toward a wider application of international contract forms. Simultaneously, its success depends of the project preparation quality and systematism of managerial decisions.

This is where the border is today between the formal project implementation and predictable quality recovery.