FIDIC glossary · Documents
Pink Book / MDB
MDB Harmonised form
In short
A Red Book version harmonised with the development banks (World Bank, ADB, EBRD) for projects they finance.
What is a Pink Book / MDB?
The Pink Book is the MDB Harmonised Construction Contract: a version of the Red Book agreed with the multilateral development banks for the projects they finance. Formally it is the Red Book General Conditions with the banks' amendments; it is what you will meet on most World Bank, ADB and EBRD projects.
The differences from the ordinary Red Book are not in the construction mechanics but in the banks' requirements. Provisions on integrity and anti-corruption are added, along with the bank's audit and inspection rights, sanctions-list requirements and the prohibition on fraud and corruption, and obligations on environmental, social, health and safety performance (ESHS). There are reporting and disclosure requirements the standard form does not carry.
The practical consequence for a contractor: the Pink Book means reading not only the contract but the specific bank's procurement rules and the Particular Conditions where the bank adds its own requirements. Three layers of documents instead of two.
The second consequence is procedural discipline. The banks monitor performance through reporting, and breaches of ESHS or integrity provisions carry financial consequences up to debarment from the bank's future tenders.
Regional practice is covered separately: FIDIC on MDB projects and the Pink Book explained.
Where it sits in the contract
Related terms
Need this read against your own contract?
This explains how the mechanism works in the standard form. How it works in your contract, after the Particular Conditions, is a separate question.
Talk to an expert →A reference explanation of the FIDIC standard conditions. Not legal advice, and not a reproduction of the FIDIC books.