Automating construction contract review using knowledge graph-enhanced large language models

Abstract: An effective and efficient review of construction contracts is essential for minimizing construction projects losses, but current methods are time-consuming and error-prone. Studies using methods based on NLP exist, but their scope is often limited to text classification or segmented label prediction. This paper investigates whether integrating LLMs and Knowledge Graphs (KGs) can enhance the accuracy and interpretability of automated contract risk identification. A tuning-free approach is proposed that integrates LLMs with a Nested Contract Knowledge Graph (NCKG) using a Graph Retrieval-Augmented Generation (GraphRAG) framework for contract knowledge retrieval and reasoning. Tested on international EPC contracts, the method achieves more accurate risk evaluation and interpretable risk summaries than baseline models. These findings demonstrate the potential of combining LLMs and KGs for reliable reasoning in tasks that are knowledge-intensive and specialized, such as contract review.