In brief
- An unpriced transport allowance moves money out of the tender and into site improvisation, where every load must be negotiated as it arrives.
- The gap shows on the page before it shows on site: look for haulage written as a lump sum with no distance, no trip count and no unit of measure.
- Ask for the loading assumptions, the number of trips and the vehicle types the rate assumes, and confirm the access route with the municipal engineer's office.
Contents
An estimator without transport allowances experience in Burao usually prices haulage as a single lump sum. The bid then looks complete and compares cheaply. The gap only appears in the weeks after award, when each delivery from the port corridor, the quarry or the water point has to be negotiated as it arrives.
How does the gap get into the bid?
It enters through a rate built by analogy, not by calculation. Someone copies a haulage line from another project, or writes "transport" against a round figure and moves on, because the rest of the estimate is where the pressure sits.
A real allowance has three parts: distance, load, and the number of trips. Distance depends on where the material actually comes from, which is a question for the supplier. Load depends on the vehicle, since a tipper, a flatbed and a water tanker carry different weights and volumes. Trip count falls out of the material schedule and the batch plan.
When one of those three is missing, the line becomes a guess. Guessing low is the common direction, because the estimator is competing on the total. Ask the supplier for the loading point in writing, and ask the municipal engineer's office whether it holds records of the access route to the plot.
What does an unpriced allowance do on site?
It converts a fixed cost into a daily negotiation. The supervisor has budget for materials and labour but no line for the movement of either, so every load is argued on the spot, often at the worst possible moment.
The effects are concrete. Cement sits at the supplier while the site waits for a vehicle. Aggregate arrives short because the rate could not cover a second trip. Water deliveries slow, and concrete placed in hot, dry conditions needs water when the programme says so, not when a tanker is free.
Cash flow follows the same path. A contractor who under-priced haulage presses for earlier payment or asks for a variation, and the client discovers the true delivery cost after the programme has already slipped. Check what the contract says about variations and payment milestones before the point is reached; the contract, not the site argument, sets what is allowed.
How do you detect the gap before award?
Read the transport line as a calculation, not a total. Ask three questions and request the answer in writing: the assumed distance and its source, the number of trips, and the vehicle type and payload behind the rate.
The pattern to look for is a lump sum with no unit. A rate expressed per trip or per tonne can be checked against the material schedule. A single figure covering all movement cannot, and it is where the risk sits.
Next, walk a recent site by the same team and ask how deliveries actually ran. Where did the material come from? Who arranged the vehicle? How many trips did a typical pour take? Then confirm with two suppliers what delivery to this plot involves, and compare their written answers with the bid narrative.
What to do next
Take the lowest bid and request its transport build-up in writing, covering distance, trips and vehicle type. Walk one recent site with the same team and ask how many deliveries a pour took. If the answers do not reconcile with the material schedule, price the difference yourself before you sign, and put the agreed allowance in the contract.
Frequently asked questions
Can a low transport rate just be a cheaper supplier?
Sometimes. Check the distance and loading point in the written answer. A genuinely cheaper rate usually names a nearer source, a bigger vehicle or a fuller return load. If none of those is stated, the rate is probably a guess.
What unit should a transport allowance use?
General practice is a rate per trip or per tonne, tied to a vehicle type, because both can be checked against the material schedule. Ask the project's engineer to confirm the unit the specification expects.
Local reporting: this article is written for building work in Burao and Somaliland. Ground conditions, prices and rules differ between places; confirm the details for your own site.