Considering large scale civil engineering projects, incorporating electro-mechanical equipment, what would be the headline differences between a multiple yellow book approach and a single silver book contract?
The real headline differentiator is the amount of risk taken on by the contractor, substantially more under the Silver Book. That risks manifests in many different ways but FIDIC provide a good page for identifying the right contract which will also, by looking through the questions, give a very clear guide as to the key differences in risk allowance. http://fidic.org/bookshop/about-bookshop/which-fidic-contract-should-i-use