How do you check mobilization pricing claims in Qardho?

A mobilization pricing competency check in Qardho means asking the bidder to prove, in writing, where the money comes from to move plant, buy the first materials and pay wages before any interim payment arrives. Read the mobilization line, then test each claim against documents and a recent site visit.

What does a mobilization price in Qardho actually cover?

The mobilization line should cover every cost the contractor carries before the first certified payment reaches the bank. In general practice that means transporting plant and tools to site, site clearance and setting out, a secure store for cement and reinforcement, water for early works, worker accommodation or transport, and the first batch of materials. It also covers wages for the first weeks, because interim certificates normally take time to measure, certify and pay, and funds then take further time to clear.

If the line is thin, the shortfall does not disappear. It shows up as delayed start, borrowed materials, or a request for an advance once the crew is already on site. The mechanism is simple: a bidder who has not counted the cash gap cannot fund it, so the work stops or the specification quietly drops. Ask each bidder to list what the line contains and what it excludes. Confirm from the project's contract and the employer what payment timing is intended, and never assume a rule about advances without checking the tender document.

How do you test mobilization pricing competency claims?

Ask for evidence, not a schedule of rates alone. For plant, request registration or ownership papers, or a written hire confirmation with the machine type and the date it can reach Qardho. For materials, ask for a supplier proforma or a written credit arrangement naming quantities and delivery dates. For wages, ask how many weeks of payroll the bidder can carry from its own funds and where that money sits.

Then walk a site the bidder finished or is working on now, and ask the storekeeper how materials were paid for at the start. Check whether the plant on that site matches the list submitted. Confirm any local registration or permit step with the municipal engineer's office, and ask what documents it requires before work starts. A bidder with owned plant, a store already in place and a track record of reaching site on time presents differently from one whose plan depends on someone else's machine arriving.

• Ask for written hire terms or ownership papers for each machine.
• Ask for proforma invoices or credit terms for the first materials.
• Ask how many weeks of wages the bidder can fund before payment.
• Ask the municipal engineer's office what start-up documents it expects.

Where does an unverified mobilization claim create risk?

The gap turns into a cash shortage at startup, and the contractor manages that shortage by changing the work. Common outcomes include starting with a smaller crew than priced, buying cheaper cement or aggregate than specified, skipping site security so materials walk, or asking for an advance that the contract may not allow. Each one pushes cost or risk back to the client, and the fix later costs more than the original line.

Detection is a paper exercise before award. Compare the mobilization line against the evidence file, then against the first two weeks of the programme: does the cash need match the activity? Ask the bidder to explain the sequence from award to first payment, week by week. Check what the contract says about advance payment, retention, measured interim certificates and demobilization, and check what it allows if the contractor stops work. The responsibility for funding mobilization sits where the contract puts it, so read that clause rather than assuming.

What to do next

Before awarding, send every bidder a short written request: list what the mobilization price includes, attach ownership or hire papers for each machine, attach supplier terms for the first materials, and state how many weeks of wages the firm can fund. Score the answers against the evidence, then confirm the payment and demobilization terms with the employer's contract adviser before signing.