In brief
- A provisional sum moves the real work and its pricing to after award, so the tender price does not show what the work will demand.
- Experience gaps in provisional sums leave the works undefined, reduce competition in the re-priced stage and can turn a low bid into a chain of variation requests.
- Ask for a priced breakdown, a defined scope and a demonstrable record on that described work before you award.
Contents
A provisional sum lets a bidder leave defined work out of its fixed price, so a Bosaso tender can look complete while provisional sums experience gaps sit unpriced. The client then carries the risk that no bidder has ever priced, planned or supervised that described work. These gaps show up later as variation claims, stalled sections and thin competition when the work is finally re-priced.
Provisional sums are normal in building contracts. The risk sits with a bidder who cannot show it has handled a sum before.
Where does the provisional sums gap start in a Bosaso bid?
The gap starts at tender stage, when nobody tests whether the bidder has priced a provisional sum before. A bill of quantities may carry a lump figure for work the designer could not detail yet, such as ground treatment, external drainage or a later fit-out package. Ask the bidder for its priced breakdown of that item, not the figure alone.
If the breakdown is empty or copied from the bill, that is the gap. The bidder has never converted a provisional sum into a measured, priced scope. The ground can be a place it shows, because excavation can meet rock, made ground or a water table that changes the method. Ask the relevant local authority or the plot owner whether any borehole logs or earlier excavation records exist for the plot, and read whatever records are available before you open prices.
What does the gap do to the work?
An unpriced provisional sum delays the decision, and the delay is paid for in standing time and rework. When the client later asks for the work, the contractor must price it in a hurry, with no enquiry window, no supplier comparison and no build-up. A contractor without that habit may quote a figure it cannot hold, then recover the difference through variations and extensions of time.
The same gap weakens competition. The re-priced scope goes to whoever is already on site, because bringing in a specialist later costs time. Ask each bidder to name the work it intends to sublet and to give two references for that described scope, not for general building. Confirm the references by walking one recent site and asking the supervisor what the subcontractor actually built. A record of similar description matters more than a long list of unrelated jobs.
Test the schedule the same way. Ask when the provisional work starts, what it depends on and who signs it off. A bidder with the experience will name the trigger, the method and the test. A bidder without it will answer with the bill item number.
How do you close the gap before award?
Close the gap by converting the provisional sum into a defined scope with a price, or by accepting the risk knowingly in writing. Ask for a measured breakdown: labour, plant, material, and the rate build-up. Ask what is included and what is excluded, and put the answer in the contract documents.
Where the work stays provisional, state how it will be re-priced, who measures it and what records prove the quantity. Check what the contract allows before you agree any deduction or set-off, and get legal or contract advice rather than deciding on site.
For the ground-related items, ask for a site investigation before award if the budget allows, or price a defined allowance with a clear method statement. For drainage, ask for levels, invert and outfall to be confirmed by survey. Confirm any technical limit, such as cover, fall or test duration, against the project specification and engineer, not against this article.
Compare two or three bidders on the same described scope rather than on the total alone. The lowest total with an empty provisional sum is not the lowest offer.
What to do next
Before you open the next Bosaso tender, list every provisional sum in the bills and send each bidder a written request for a priced breakdown, a method statement and two references for that described work. Set a deadline for the answers. Award only when the breakdown is complete, or record the unchecked items and how the contract will price them.
Frequently asked questions
Does a provisional sum always mean the bidder lacks experience?
No. It means the work was not defined at tender stage. The question to test is whether the bidder has priced that described work before, which you check through its breakdown and references.
How do I compare bidders when the provisional item has no price?
Write one defined scope for the item, send it to all bidders and compare their prices for the same work, alongside their method statements and references.
Local reporting: this article is written for building work in Bosaso and Puntland. Ground conditions, prices and rules differ between places; confirm the details for your own site.