Risk, and the management of risk, take up much time and effort in large infrastructure and construction projects. In this second part of 2025 our contributors address risk in various forms. The contributions range from addressing significant risks during the project, ranging from unforeseen ground conditions, to managing power demand and urgency in the context of data centres, to managing risk at a later stage, including managing the dispute process, whether through dispute boards, or arbitration, and the allocation of risk among multiple parties.

We start with the subject of risk apportionment of ground conditions in construction projects, a significant risk in traditional projects, as well as, in more modern projects, such as offshore renewables. In Unearthing a Minefield of Uncertainty: The Impact of Site Information Disclaimers on Latent Conditions Risk Allocation, Dr Jeremy Coggins carries out a comprehensive review of site information disclaimers and latent ground condition risk allocation provisions with particular emphasis on the position in Australia, Canada, the UK and US. After considering the legal obligations on employers to provide site information to tenderers, he discusses the impact of general site information disclaimers and specific site information disclaimers on latent condition claims (as labelled in the UK and Australia) or differing site condition claims (as labelled in the US). Next Coggins addresses the impact of disclaimer provisions on claims for unforeseen ground conditions advanced as misrepresentation claims, based on a contractor showing it has relied on erroneous factual site information provided by the employer during the tendering phase. He concludes that interpreting site information disclaimers and understanding their interaction with contractual latent condition clauses remains a confusing and complex task, particularly in light of the entitlement being linked to some form of experienced contractor test, giving rise to uncertainty as between the parties to the construction projects. Interestingly, this traditional area of dispute has received more attention in recent years in the context of offshore windfarms, given the challenges around accurately mapping offshore ground conditions and their changing nature.

In More Watts from Less Carbon; The Challenges of Innovating to Accommodate the Energy Demands of Data Centre Projects without Compromising Net Zero, Roberta Downey discusses the convergence of the apparently ever increasing economic demand to build data centres with the political, social and environmental necessity to cut carbon emissions. Downey calls upon construction lawyers to challenge perceived wisdoms and to proactively seek innovative legal solutions to provide contracts that are fit for today’s innovative construction projects. This highly topical contribution spells out the digital economy’s demand for power, the potential claims this will give rise to and the need for construction lawyers to grapple with the necessary risk identification and categorisation of losses when drafting contracts, rather than simply recycling former standard forms. The real urgency in the industry, combined with the difficulties of anticipating future capacity needs and building sufficient redundancy, suggests major variations to