The performance in the ports sector will usually be tied to the activity levels of the completed facility. This should mean that the choice of engineering solution to achieve the specified level is left entirely to the contractor.
Within the agreed construction period there should be much less scope for the owner to determine how the contract work is actually delivered, what the detailed design for the project is, and less scope again for the owner to make changes during construction.
Meanwhile, a significant driver for EPC contracting in the international market is the nature of project financing. An EPC contract is thought, rightly or not, to be more bankable due to the perception that it is less risky for the owner. Of course this is not necessarily the case, as the risk of passing all liabilities to a contractor is only ever going to be as strong as the contractor’s balance sheet.
And even where an owner is buying cost certainty, this itself comes at a very high price. There is usually a very significant premium to be paid (perhaps 30%-40%) over and above the cost of a non-EPC construction route.