I continue in China.

And looking at Chinese infrastructure, I came across a lovely reminder for our industry.

The Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge.

More specifically, its immersed tunnel.

A standard tunnel segment weighed approximately 80,000 tonnes.

They precast the segments on Guishan Island, then used tugboats to transport them into position.

If you like megaprojects, this is a must see.

The project used extensive off-site manufacturing to help control quality and reduce disturbance to marine life.

For the tunnel’s final connection, prefabrication also reduced the work required in deep water.

All very efficient, but still this beast was very expensive.

So, this is the lesson.

Before arguing about who should carry a risk, ask whether you can reduce the risky work itself.

That’s it.

Our industry sometimes approaches this in a different order.

Difficult construction conditions?

Transfer the risk.

Uncertain interfaces?

Transfer the risk.

Something nobody understands?

Put it in Schedule 17.

Then everyone congratulates themselves on protecting the client.

The waves, unfortunately, haven’t read Schedule 17.

Neither has the wind.

Very unprofessional of them… they should not be allowed into the project…

Anyway.

A contractor accepting a risk doesn’t make the physical problem disappear.

It may appear in the price.

It may produce qualifications.

Or it may return later wearing a claim, a delay and an extremely expensive lawyer.

And if you’re the Project Director or CEO, guess whose desk it lands on.

Yes… that’s it.

Yours.

With a Board paper due on Friday.

So, remember this: reduce the risk before you negotiate who carries what remains.

That small piece of advice can make you save billions.

This is the kind of thinking I bring into The Room.

Procurement. Negotiation. Meetings. Risk allocation. Difficult clients.

The decisions that look perfectly respectable in a presentation…

…and become considerably less respectable when you have to explain the consequences.

You don’t need an 80,000-tonne tunnel to learn this lesson.

Your current project probably has enough opportunities to get it wrong.

​The Room.

Back to the fair.

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