In brief
- A contingency figure is a claim about risk, so test it against the method statement, site records and plant the bidder names.
- Unfunded uncertainty appears later as stalled work, substituted materials or extra claims, not as a line item that looks wrong on paper.
- Ask for the working behind the number and confirm ground and permit conditions with the municipal engineer's office before award.
Contents
A contingency line in a Qardho bid only means something when the bidder can show how the figure was built. In Qardho, the contingency line comes down to evidence: a number with no method statement, no site records and no named plant is a guess dressed as prudence. The client carries that guess as unfunded uncertainty once work starts.
What does a contingency figure actually claim?
It claims the bidder has identified specific risks and priced a response to each one. Ask for that mapping. A credible submission links each risk to a method: dewatering, importing fill, curing water, extra supervision hours, a second concrete pour sequence. For ground conditions, ask the municipal engineer's office whether it holds borehole logs or previous excavation records for the plot, then compare those with what the bidder assumed. General practice is to price known risks as measured items and keep contingency for the unknown, but confirm how the project specification and the engineer want it presented. Where the bidder cannot name the risk, the number is either padding or hope, and neither survives contact with the site.
How does unverified capability turn into unfunded uncertainty?
The gap shows up after award, when the priced response cannot be delivered. A bidder may claim experience with a particular excavation support method, a concrete supply arrangement or a curing regime without the plant, the crew or the records. The work then proceeds on a cheaper substitute, or stops while the client negotiates. Ask three things: recent site references the client can walk, test records for comparable work, and the names of the people and machines committed to this project. Walk a recent site and look at what was actually built, not what was described. If the bidder subcontracted the difficult part before, ask who did it and whether they are available now. Contract terms decide who pays when the assumption fails, so check what the contract allows before relying on any recovery route.
How do you check the numbers before award?
Compare the contingency against the priced scope, item by item. A contingency larger than the traded work it protects deserves questions. A contingency near zero on a site with unknown ground or access deserves more. Ask each bidder to submit the calculation, the risk register behind it and the source of any rates used. Request written confirmation of material availability and delivery timing from the supplier, not from the bidder alone. Check the permit position with the municipal office: what approvals the work needs, what the drawings must show and who signs. Where two bidders price the same risk very differently, ask both to explain the difference in writing and keep the answers with the tender file.
What to do next
Before award, send one written question to every shortlisted bidder: set out the three largest risks you have identified, the method for each and the records that show you have done it before. Require the answer in writing and attach it to the contract. Then visit one recent site from each bidder and ask the municipal engineer's office what it holds on the ground at your plot.
Frequently asked questions
Can a client ask for the contingency calculation?
Yes. Ask each bidder to submit the risk register and the build-up behind the figure, and state in the tender documents that the answer forms part of the submission. Check what your procurement rules and contract allow before you make it a condition.
What if a bidder refuses to give site references?
Treat that as a gap in the evidence, not a reason to reject on its own. Record the refusal, ask for alternative proof such as test records or supplier confirmations, and weigh the missing evidence against the price.
Local reporting: this article is written for building work in Qardho and Puntland. Ground conditions, prices and rules differ between places; confirm the details for your own site.