As the Arab world is increasingly becoming a magnet for foreign investment, with an increased demand for sophisticated infrastructure projects, international construction, engineering and design firms are presented with more and more opportunities to perform work in most of the Arab countries. Therefore, in the light of the differences in culture, customs, heritage and legal outlooks, the initiative of FIDIC and ICC to visit the region, together with the elite of international construction experts, was widely welcomed. Local practitioners had the chance of understanding better the intricacies of the various contract forms offered by FIDIC while airing their concerns regarding the peculiar aspects of their legal systems and their conformity with those provisions. Simultaneously, representatives of international market players and western experts had the chance to get a grip on the problems and issues they may encounter on their international projects located in some of the Arab countries, and to share their views on how to manage them.

This paper is not meant to give a detailed account of the works of the Conference, but rather aims at examining the views expressed by Egyptian practitioners on some of the topics discussed during the Conference. Views on the use of the new FIDIC forms, risk allocation, the role of the engineer, the role of dispute boards, and some issues relating to the conduct of arbitration and enforcement of its awards, will be examined in detail in the following sections. However, it seems appropriate, before delving into the details of these topics, to cast light on why the point of view of Egyptian practitioners would be of relevance in understanding the position in most other Arab legal systems. This is followed by a brief overview of the Egyptian legal framework for construction contracts.