NHAI EPC Programme Under Clause 10.1: What to Submit Within 30 Days of the Appointed Date

The Appointed Date is when the contract clock starts. It also starts a second, shorter clock that many site teams notice too late. Under NHAI's model EPC Agreement, the contractor has 30 days from the Appointed Date to submit the programme for the whole project, and every Project Milestone and damages calculation that follows is tied to it.

This guide covers what Clause 10.1(iii) of the Revised Standard EPC Agreement asks for:

• the three parts of the programme;
• how the Schedule-J milestones and the 0.05% per day damages work;
• how to build a programme in Primavera P6 or MS Project that the Authority's Engineer can review quickly.

Quotes are from the model agreement published by NHAI (updated till 25 April 2022). Your own contract's schedules and special conditions take precedence, so check the signed copy.

What Clause 10.1(iii) says#

The clause is short:

"Within 30 (thirty) days of the Appointed Date, the Contractor shall submit to the Authority and the Authority's Engineer a programme (the "Programme") for the Works, developed using networking techniques, for review and consent of the Engineer…"

Three things follow from these words:

• The deadline is 30 days from the Appointed Date, not from the letter of award or the signing date. The agreement defines the Appointed Date as "the date declared by the Authority as the project commencement date with the consent of the contractor".
• "Developed using networking techniques" means a logic-linked schedule. Activities are connected by dependencies, so the critical path can be calculated (CPM). A bar chart drawn in Excel with no links does not meet it.
• The Authority's Engineer reviews and consents to the programme. It is a submission the Authority's Engineer has to accept, not a document you file and forget.

The same clause family has an earlier deadline. Under 10.1(i), within 20 days of the Appointed Date the contractor must appoint its representative and a Design Director, among other things. Plan the first month so the programme team is not also chasing those appointments.

The three parts of the programme#

Clause 10.1(iii) splits the programme into three parts.

Part I: organisation and methods#

"Contractor's organisation for the Project, the general methods and arrangements for design and construction, environmental management plan, Quality Assurance Plan including design quality plan, traffic management and safety plan covering safety of users and workers during construction (including use of 'ROBOTS' for diversion and control of traffic), Contractor's key personnel and equipment."

This is mostly narrative and plans. It still has to match the schedule. The key equipment listed here (pavers, batching plants, piling rigs, launching girders) should appear as the resources that drive the durations in Part II.

Part II: the programme itself#

"Programme for completion of all stages of construction given in Schedule-H and Project Milestones of the Works as specified in Project Completion Schedule set forth in Schedule-J."

The clause lists what Part II must include:

1. "the order in which the Contractor intends to carry out the Works, including the anticipated timing of design and stages of Works";
2. "the periods for reviews under Clause 10.2";
3. "the sequence and timing of inspections and tests specified in this Agreement"; and
4. "the particulars for the pre-construction reviews and for any other submissions, approvals and consents specified in the Agreement."

Item 2 is often left out. Clause 10.2(iv) gives the Authority's Engineer 15 days to review drawings, extendable to 30 days for major bridges and structures, and 10 days to comment on resubmitted drawings. These review windows belong in the programme as activities between "drawing submitted" and "construction starts". Leave them out and the first bridge activity is late on day one.

Part III: monthly cash-flow forecast#

"Part III : Monthly cash flow forecast."

This is one line in the agreement, and it is the part that exposes an unrealistic programme fastest. If the schedule is cost-loaded (every activity carries its share of the contract price), the monthly cash flow comes straight out of it. It can then be checked against the Stage Payment thresholds in Schedule-J (below).

Revisions are mandatory#

"The Contractor shall submit a revised Programme whenever the previous Programme is inconsistent with the actual progress or with the Contractor's obligations."

The programme is not a one-time submission. Whenever the site falls behind, or a scope change or time extension moves the obligations, the programme must be revised and resubmitted. The baseline you submit in month one needs to be easy to update, which is the main reason to build it properly in scheduling software.

Schedule-J: the milestones your programme must hit#

Schedule-J (Project Completion Schedule) sets three Project Milestones as percentages of the Scheduled Construction Period, each with a minimum value of Stage Payment Statements submitted:

Two practical consequences for the programme:

• Model each milestone as a milestone activity with its contractual date, and check that the cost-loaded curve crosses 10%, 35% and 70% before those dates. A programme can meet the finish date and still miss Milestone-II because all bridge starts sit after day 60%.
• Notify the Authority within 15 days of each milestone. Schedule-J asks the contractor to notify compliance "within 15 (fifteen) days of the date of each Project Milestone". Add these notifications as small activities so they are not forgotten.

Why the programme matters: damages under Clause 10.3#

Clause 10.3(ii) links Schedule-J to money. If the contractor fails to achieve any Project Milestone or the Scheduled Completion Date "within a period of 30 (thirty) days from the date set forth in Schedule-J", it pays damages:

"…at the rate of 0.05% (zero point zero five percent) of the Contract Price for delay of each day reckoned from the date specified in Schedule –J and until such Project Milestone is achieved or the Project Highway is completed…"

Force majeure and reasons solely attributable to the Authority are excluded. Once the 30 days are exceeded, damages count from the Schedule-J date itself.

Three further rules in the same clause:

• Refund if you finish on time. If the Project Highway is completed within the Scheduled Completion Date, including any time extension, milestone damages "shall be refunded by the Authority to the Contractor, but without any interest thereon".
• Cap and default. Under 10.3(iii), total damages "shall not exceed 10% (ten percent) of the Contract Price". If they exceed that, "the Contractor shall be deemed to be in default of this agreement having no cure", and the Authority may terminate.
• Future bidding. Under 10.3(iv), if Project Completion is more than 90 days late (except for force majeure or the Authority's fault), the contractor is ineligible to bid for future NHAI projects, alone or in a joint venture, from the Scheduled Completion Date until the Completion Certificate. This applies where the delayed project's contract value is Rs 300 crore or more.

A worked example#

Take a Rs 400 crore EPC package with a 700-day Scheduled Construction Period. The model agreement leaves the number of days in brackets for each project; 700 is used here only to keep the arithmetic simple.

At Rs 20 lakh a day, a programme that hides a two-week slip in the bridge starts is not a paperwork problem. It is the most expensive document on the project.

Is Primavera P6 mandatory for NHAI?#

Not under the model agreement. Clause 10.1(iii) says "networking techniques", and a full-text search of the Revised Standard EPC Agreement finds no mention of Primavera or MS Project.

In practice:

• many Authority's Engineers and NHAI project units work in Primavera P6 and prefer an XER file they can import and review;
• some contracts and tender documents name the software in their special conditions or the Authority's Engineer's requirements.

Check three places before choosing:

• the contract's special conditions;
• any Authority's Engineer circular;
• what the Authority's Engineer on your package actually uses.

If they work in P6, sending an MS Project file adds review friction at exactly the moment you need a quick consent.

How to build a programme the Authority's Engineer can accept#

A practical structure for a two-lane or four-lane EPC package:

1. WBS by stage and location.
   • Top level: the Schedule-H stages (earthwork, sub-base and base courses, bituminous courses, structures, road furniture and so on).
   • Below that: sections by chainage, and each structure (minor bridge, major bridge, ROB, culverts) as its own WBS node.
   • Your interim payments are claimed by Schedule-H stage, so the programme can then produce the monthly cash flow in the same structure.
2. Activity codes. Stage, chainage section, structure ID and crew or resource. The Authority's Engineer can then filter "all bridge activities" or "km 12 to 18" without asking you.
3. Design and review activities first.
   • Survey and investigations.
   • Design packages.
   • Proof-check.
   • The Clause 10.2 review windows (15 days, or 30 for major structures, and 10 days for resubmissions).
   • Structures cannot start before their drawings are approved.
4. Resource-driven logic.
   • Pavers, hot-mix plants, piling rigs, girder casting beds and launching arrangements are the real constraints.
   • Link work locations in the order a resource moves through them, e.g. rig 1: P1 → P2 → P3. The critical path then reflects the site, not a textbook.
5. Calendars.
   • A 6-day working calendar with national holidays.
   • A monsoon calendar for earthwork, bituminous work and river-bed foundations: no or reduced work in the local monsoon months.
   • A 7-day calendar for curing.
6. Durations from quantities. Base durations on the quantities and outputs in the MoRTH Standard Data Book (for example, machine outputs per hour for earthwork, GSB and WMM), adjusted for your equipment and site. Write the basis into each activity's notes so a reviewer can follow it.
7. Milestones and cash flow.
   • Add the three Project Milestones and the Scheduled Completion Date as finish milestones on their Schedule-J days.
   • Cost-load the activities from the Schedule-H weightages or your priced BOQ.
   • Check the 10%, 35% and 70% crossings.
8. Baseline and updates.
   • Once the Authority's Engineer consents, save the baseline.
   • Update monthly against the data date, and revise the programme whenever it becomes inconsistent with progress, as the clause requires.

Clause 10.1(iv) is also relevant here. The contractor must compute "the length, area and numbers" of the Schedule-H items from the drawings, and these "shall form the basis for estimating the interim payments". The quantities that drive the programme's durations and cash flow are the same quantities that drive your stage payments. Measure them once and use them in both places.

Common reasons a programme gets sent back#

These come from practice rather than from the agreement:

• A bar chart without logic. It does not meet "networking techniques", and the critical path cannot be seen.
• Missing review and approval windows. Structures start on the day drawings are submitted.
• Milestones not tied to Schedule-J dates, or a cash-flow curve that crosses the 10/35/70% thresholds after the milestone dates.
• No monsoon calendar for earthwork and river-bed work.
• Long activities (for example "Bituminous works: 180 days") that cannot be progressed or reviewed.
• Hard constraints used to force dates, instead of logic and resources.

FAQ#

What is the Appointed Date in an NHAI EPC contract?#

The model agreement defines it as "the date declared by the Authority as the project commencement date with the consent of the contractor". The 30-day programme deadline, the Schedule-J milestone days and the Scheduled Completion Date are all counted from it.

What does "developed using networking techniques" mean?#

The programme must be a network: activities linked by dependencies, so that early and late dates, float and the critical path can be calculated (the critical path method). An unlinked bar chart does not meet it.

Do I have to use Primavera P6?#

Not under the model agreement, which does not name any software. Check your contract's special conditions and what your Authority's Engineer uses. Many prefer a P6 file (XER).

What goes into Part III of the programme?#

A monthly cash-flow forecast. The practical way to produce it is to cost-load the programme by Schedule-H stage, so the forecast follows the planned progress.

How often must the programme be revised?#

Whenever it is inconsistent with actual progress or with the contractor's obligations, in the words of Clause 10.1(iii). In practice that means a monthly update, and a formal revision whenever the site falls behind the plan or the obligations change.

What happens if we miss a Project Milestone?#

If a milestone is missed by more than 30 days, damages of 0.05% of the Contract Price per day run from the Schedule-J date until it is achieved (force majeure and reasons solely attributable to the Authority excepted). They are refunded, without interest, if the project is completed within the Scheduled Completion Date including any time extension. Total damages are capped at 10% of the Contract Price.

Need the programme prepared?#

SiteSetu prepares NHAI and MoRTH EPC programmes as a Primavera P6 programme for NHAI works, built from your BOQ:

• WBS by Schedule-H stage and chainage;
• the Clause 10.2 review windows;
• Schedule-J milestones;
• a monthly cash-flow forecast.

Delivered as an XER file for P6 plus a PDF. For tenders and awarded works in other departments, see programme of works for tenders and awarded contracts.

Related guides:

• mobilization advance under NHAI and CPWD contracts
• construction project scheduling methods (CPM, PERT, bar charts)

References#

• National Highways Authority of India, Revised Standard EPC Agreement (updated till 25.04.2022): Clause 10.1 (Obligations prior to commencement of Works), Clause 10.2 (Design and Drawings), Clause 10.3 (Construction of the Project Highway), Schedule-J (Project Completion Schedule). https://nhai.gov.in/nhai/sites/default/files/mix_file/Revised_Standard_EPC_Agreement_updated_till_25_04_2022.pdf
• Ministry of Road Transport and Highways / IRC, Standard Data Book for Analysis of Rates (2nd revision, 2019), for machine and labour outputs used in durations.