Construction Procurement in Uganda: Are You Getting the Best Value for Your Money?

How the way you procure your construction project can affect cost, time, quality and what you ultimately get for your budget.

Imagine your organisation has UGX 500 million to build a school, health Centre, community facility or other development project in Uganda.

Your objective is simple:

• Build a good facility.

• Build it to the required standards.

• Complete it on time.

• Stay within budget.

• Deliver the greatest possible benefit to the people the project is intended to serve.

But before construction begins, a project can involve architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, procurement teams, project managers, contractors, supervisors and other professionals.

Each may have an important role.

The question is not whether these professionals are necessary.

The question is:

“Is the way the project is organised helping you get the best value from your construction budget?”

The contractor's price is not the whole project cost

When organizations compare construction costs, they often focus on the contractor's quotation.

But the total cost of delivering a project can also include:

• Architectural design

• Engineering

• Quantity surveying

• Site investigations

• Project management

• Procurement and tendering

• Supervision

• Contract administration

• Approvals

• Testing

• Variations

• Additional costs caused by delays

These services can all be legitimate and necessary. However, when they are handled separately, the client may have to pay for and coordinate several different services and parties.

For example, on a UGX 500 million project:

5% = UGX 25 million

10% = UGX 50 million

That is significant money for an organisation building a school, health facility or community project. The objective should therefore not simply be to find the lowest construction quotation.

It should be to ask: “How much value can we get from the total amount we have available?”

Time is also money

Construction costs are not only affected by cement, steel, labour and other materials.

Time costs money too. The longer a project takes, the greater the possibility of additional costs from extended supervision, project management, equipment, labour, financing, price changes and other expenses.

Uganda's PPDA Annual Performance Report for FY2021/22 recorded an average procurement lead time of 194 days for open domestic bidding, compared with an indicative period of 100 days, and 292 days for open international bidding, compared with an indicative period of 110 days.

This does not mean procurement is unnecessary. Procurement provides important safeguards around competition, accountability and transparency.

But it shows that: “The way a project is procured can affect how quickly the project gets moving.” And when a construction project takes longer, the cost can also increase.

What happens when design and construction are separated?

A traditional approach can look like this:

Client → Architect → Engineer → Quantity Surveyor → Tender → Contractor → Supervision → Client

There is nothing wrong with this model. It can work very well.

However, the client may have to coordinate several different parties.

• If the design changes, the engineer may need to review it.

• If the engineering changes, the cost may need to be reviewed.

• If the cost changes, the client may need to approve it.

• The contractor then has to implement the changes.

Someone has to coordinate all of this. Every additional interface can create another point where information must be communicated, reviewed and approved. That does not automatically make a project more expensive but it can create additional time, administration and coordination costs.

An alternative: Design & Build

Now consider a different approach:

Client → Design & Build Team → Design + Engineering + Construction

This is the Design & Build approach.

The idea is simple: “The people designing the building work together with the people who will build it.”

This means design, engineering, construction methods and cost can be considered together from the beginning.

• The client has fewer interfaces to manage.

• Communication can be simpler.

• Responsibility can be clearer.

And construction problems can be discussed directly within the same team responsible for delivering the project. Research into Design & Build in Uganda has identified potential benefits including single-point responsibility, simpler client supervision, improved communication, time efficiency and cost control, while also recognising that the approach has its own challenges.

So, where can the client save money?

This is the important question.

Design & Build does not mean that a building automatically becomes cheaper.

The potential saving comes from how the project is organised. An integrated approach can potentially reduce unnecessary costs associated with:

• Duplication; when different professionals work separately, information may need to be prepared, transferred and reviewed between several parties. An integrated team can reduce unnecessary duplication.

• Coordination; Instead of the client coordinating several independent parties, the Design & Build team coordinates the design and construction process.

• Delays; when designers and builders work together, construction-related decisions can potentially be made faster. And as we have seen: Time is money.

• Design changes; when construction costs and practical building methods are considered during design, potential problems can be identified earlier.

• Variations; Not every variation can be avoided. Unexpected ground conditions, changes requested by the client and other legitimate circumstances can occur. But better coordination between design and construction can help reduce avoidable changes.

One team. One contract. One point of responsibility.

 This is one of the most important advantages for a client.

Instead of asking: “Who is responsible for this?” The client has a clearer starting point:

“This is the team responsible for delivering the project.” This can be particularly valuable for organisations building in Uganda while outside the country.

If you are based in Europe, North America, Australia or elsewhere, you may not be able to visit your project every week.

You need clear:

• Communication.

• Documentation.

• Costs.

• Timelines.

• Quality expectations.

• Responsibility.

An integrated approach can make this relationship simpler.

The cheapest quotation is not always the cheapest project

Suppose Contractor A gives you a lower construction quotation than Contractor B.

At first, Contractor A appears cheaper.

But what happens if the project later requires:

• Significant design changes

• Additional consultancy

• More supervision

• More coordination

• Delays

• Additional materials

• Extended project management

• Other variations

The initial quotation may be lower, but the final cost of delivering the project may be higher.

The real question is not “Who is cheapest?”

The real question is “Which approach gives us the best value for our total investment?”

How Brick by Brick approaches construction?

At Brick by Brick Construction Company, we bring design, engineering and construction together.

Our approach is based on integrated Design & Build., We look at the project as one complete system rather than simply a collection of separate services.

From the beginning, we consider:

• The client's budget

• The site

• Architectural design

• Structural engineering

• Construction methods

• Materials

• Sustainability

• Long-term maintenance

• Construction time

• Quality

• Practicality

This allows construction considerations to be included while the design is being developed.

Our work also includes sustainable and locally appropriate construction solutions

Our philosophy is simple:

“Good design should create value - not simply add cost.”

Fixed-price contracts and greater cost certainty

For clients, one of the most important questions is:

“What will this project actually cost me?”

Where appropriate, a fixed-price Design & Build contract can provide the client with a clearly defined price for the agreed scope of work.

The contract should clearly explain:

• What is included?

• What is excluded?

• Payment stages

• Completion requirements

• Quality requirements

• How variations are handled

• Warranty obligations

• Responsibilities of each party

Of course, no construction project can eliminate every possible change.

Unexpected site conditions or client-requested changes can occur.

But a clear contract gives both the client and contractor a clear framework for dealing with them.

The client still has the choice

Design & Build is not the only way to procure a construction project. For some projects, a traditional Design–Bid–Build approach may be the right choice. For others, an integrated Design & Build approach may make more sense.

The important thing is to understand:

• What are you paying for?

• Who is responsible?

• How long will it take?

• What is the total expected cost?

• What happens if something changes?

And most importantly:

“What will give you the greatest value from the money you have available?”

Build more. Complicate less.

For an NGO, foundation, CBO, school, healthcare organisation or development organisation, construction is usually not the mission itself.

The mission may be:

• Education.

• Healthcare.

• Community development.

• Housing.

• Water.

• Livelihoods.

The building is what helps make that mission possible.

So the construction process should help the organisation achieve its mission — not consume unnecessary time, money and management resources. This is the thinking behind our Design & Build approach at Brick by Brick.

• Integrated design.

• Engineering.

• Construction.

• Clear responsibility.

• Better coordination.

• Greater cost certainty.

Ultimately, the choice belongs with the client. Our role is to give you another option and help you understand what that option can mean for your project. Before you procure your next construction project, ask yourself one simple question:

“What procurement approach will give us the most value from the money we have available?”

At Brick by Brick Construction Company, our approach is simple:

 Design it well. Build it properly. Control the cost. Deliver the value.