Draft resolution on standard contract terms for the preparation of design documentation under Federal Law No. 44-FZ has been published.
The document is currently undergoing public consultation, so its provisions may still be amended. The new rules are expected to take effect on 1 January 2027.
Key proposed requirements include:
- consideration of national procurement preferences when selecting materials, equipment and software;
- a prohibition on obsolete, discontinued or unavailable-in-Russia products;
- the possibility of using equivalent construction materials and resources;
- preparation of a consolidated list of materials and equipment specified in the design documentation;
- monitoring compliance of the estimated project cost with the approved construction cost cap;
assets/images/news/shurph.jpg
- optimisation of design solutions where the established cost limit is exceeded;
- development and maintenance of an information model;
- verification of the status of Chief Project Engineers (CPEs) and Chief Architects (CAs) included in the National Register of Specialists.
The key question is how these new obligations will affect liability, project timelines and design costs.
A designer may optimise design solutions only within the scope of the design brief and the agreed characteristics of the facility.
If the construction cost cap was initially calculated without taking actual construction conditions into account, the issue cannot be resolved solely by revising the design documentation.
The same applies to the information model: requirements regarding its content, formats, software and handover to the client should be defined before the procurement process begins.
The completeness of the initial data and the quality of engineering surveys are becoming particularly important. These factors directly affect design solutions, estimated costs and the successful completion of the state review process.
At the same time, the designer should be required to rectify, at its own expense, only those deficiencies arising from its own fault.
Any changes to the design brief or initial data constitute additional scope of work and must be formalised in accordance with the established procedure.
The issue of separate contracts for engineering surveys also remains open: the current standard terms cover both design work and engineering surveys, whereas the new draft is primarily focused on design documentation.
In my view, the overall direction of the proposed changes is sound. However, liability must be properly balanced: the client should be responsible for the design brief, initial data and a properly substantiated construction cost cap, while the designer should be responsible for the quality and technical justification of the design solutions.
