AB 04 and ABT 06 - Update on the BKK revision

Background on AB04 and ABT 06

The construction industry's standard contract AB 04 is proposed to be replaced by AB 25 (General Conditions for Construction and Installation Contracts). ABT 06, in turn, is proposed to be replaced by the agreement for design and execution contracts, ABPU 25 (General provisions for design and execution contracts for building, civil engineering and installation works). The revised standard contracts - AB 25 and ABPU 25 - were published on 15 October 2024 and opened for consultation until 28 February 2025. BKK has now published an update on the status of the revision.

Summary of the updated standard contracts AB 25 and ABPU 25

The updated standard agreements present several new areas in calculation rules, environmental and occupational health and safety issues, quality management, digitalisation and dispute resolution. In parallel with these innovations, the basic structure of the standard contracts has been revised. It should be emphasised that AB 25 does not contain comments on the individual provisions, unlike the current ones. Some comments have been incorporated into the provisions themselves; otherwise, BKK intends to publish a separate explanatory memorandum to AB 25, which will not be subject to consultation. We have written a more detailed account of the changes in the new standard agreements AB 25 and ABPU 25 in a previous article - click here to read it.

Postponed timeframe after 4,000 responses

On 15 October 2024, BKK released the drafts of the new standard contracts for consultation and welcomed comments from the public. BKK commissioned Svensk Byggtjänst to manage the consultation process, which ran between 15 October 2024 and 28 February 2025.

In a statement on 11 June 2025, BKK then announced the current status of the revision. BKK has previously indicated that the new standard contracts are expected to be available in summer 2025, but it is now clear that this timeframe is no longer feasible. BKK states that it is currently processing all feedback received during the consultation, which closed at the end of February. There are around 4,000 responses from around 200 consultees, which will take time to process to the extent necessary. Many considerations and important decisions need to be made to ensure that the objectives of the standard contracts are met.

In light of this, there is currently no precise forecast for when the new standard agreements will be launched. However, BKK states that it will not happen in the autumn of 2025, given the workload involved in processing the consultation responses. In the autumn, BKK will return with an updated forecast. A reasonable expectation is therefore that the new standard agreements will take until 2026.

Want to know more about the construction industry's standard agreements?

Lindahl is following the work on both AB 25 and ABPU 25 with great interest and will return to the subject. Our experts can assist in the drafting, assessment and application of procurement documents and construction contracts, and act as advisors both before and during discussions regarding the Swedish standard contracts in general. Lindahl also offers training courses and seminars on construction law and AB 04/ABT 06.