# Why do school building bids in Borama come in so low?

> Low school building bids in Borama often hide omitted work and weak cost assumptions. Here is how clients and supervisors spot the gap before signing.

- By: Editorial Team, Somali Construction Review (https://somaliconstructionreview.com/about)
- Published: 21 September 2026
- Format: Practical guide (general practice)
- Publication: Somali Construction Review (https://somaliconstructionreview.com)
- Subject: Business and Costs
- Place: Borama, Somaliland
- Tags: borama, somaliland, contractor-experience, project-complexity, underbidding
- Web version: https://somaliconstructionreview.com/blog/school-building-works-underbidding-risks-borama

## Key points

- A low school bid is a risk signal, not proof of efficiency: ask which items each bidder left out.
- School building works underbidding risks in Borama usually appear at external works, wet areas, roofing and supervision, not in the classroom walls.
- Compare priced bills line by line and ask each bidder to confirm the scope in writing before award.

Underbidding in school building works usually shows up before the first block is laid. A bid comes in far below the rest, the price wins, and the shortfall is recovered later from omitted work, thinner materials or abandoned items. The mechanism is the same anywhere: the tender price was built from assumptions nobody tested against the drawings, the site or the programme.

## Where do school building works underbidding risks start in Borama?

The gap starts in the estimate, not on site. Bidders under time pressure price from a bill of quantities they have not walked, and each missing item becomes someone else's problem after award.

Common pressure points in a school project include:

- External works: drainage, paving, boundary wall, gate, soakaway or connection to an existing line.
- Wet areas: toilet blocks, floor falls, tanking, pipe runs and fittings counted per block rather than per drawing.
- Roof and shading: sheet lengths, fixings, gutters, downpipes and eaves details.
- Site clearance, hardcore and any ground improvement.
- Supervision, security, water for works and temporary power.

Borama sits inland, so a reader should ask the municipal engineer's office what it holds for the plot before assuming anything about ground, drainage or previous use. Ask each bidder to confirm in writing which items are included and which are excluded. A bid that excludes external works is not a cheap school, it is a school plus an unpriced package.

## How does the shortfall show up during construction?

Once the money runs out, the work slows in the least visible places and the programme stretches. The classroom block may still rise while the toilets, drainage and roof finish wait.

Disrupted educational use follows. A school that cannot open its toilet block, or whose yard floods at the gate, is not usable even if the classrooms are complete. The client then faces a second procurement round at short notice, often with the same contractor and no competitive pressure.

Detection is straightforward if the supervisor keeps a running comparison of priced scope against installed scope. Walk the site weekly and record what is missing against the bill, not against memory. Ask for the contractor's own cost build-up on the items that keep slipping. If the answer is vague, the estimate was vague. Underbidding is not a financial problem alone; it changes what gets built and when.

## How do you close the gap before award?

Close it at tender stage, not with a lecture after signing. Require a priced bill with every line completed, no blank or lump-sum placeholders for external works and wet areas.

Then compare bids line by line, not just on the total. A bidder who is low on one package and normal elsewhere is making a specific assumption that can be challenged. A bidder who is low across the board may simply not have priced the job.

Before award, ask each bidder to confirm scope, programme and what it has allowed for supervision, water and waste removal, in writing. Check the contract for what it allows on variations and interim payments, and take advice on the conditions before signing. Name the person who will check progress against the priced bill each month.

> **Tip:** Ask every bidder for a priced bill with no blank lines, then walk a school it completed in the last two years and ask the head teacher which items were finished late.

## What to do next

Take the two lowest bids and mark every unpriced or lump-sum line on the bill. Send both bidders the same written scope query and ask them to confirm inclusions, exclusions and programme in writing. Compare the answers against the drawings before you sign anything, and ask the municipal engineer's office what it holds for the plot.

## Questions

### Can a low school building bid in Borama still be genuine?

It can, but the bidder has to show a priced bill with every line completed and a cost build-up that supports the total. Ask for both in writing and compare the scope against the drawings before award.

### What should a client check first when a school bid looks too low?

Check the external works and wet area packages first, then roofing and supervision allowances. These are the items most often left unpriced, and they decide whether the school can actually open.