The Extent of Variability of Rates of Building Items in Botswana

For any competitive tender for a construction project, the tender sums submitted by contractors are bound to vary considerably. Part of the reason for variation is the differences in rates of building items that make up the tender sum of entire project. The extent to which the rates vary and reasons for the variation constitute very important pieces of information for stakeholders of the construction industry, for example, contractors would know how far they could raise their rates without fear of failing to secure a contract or lower their rates without incurring a future loss. Similarly, clients would be in a better position to evaluate the tender bids. This paper reports findings of a study carried out to investigate the variability of rates of common building items used in public building projects in Botswana. The paper concludes that tiling and glazing were found to have the highest rate of variability, while reinforcement and masonry had the lowest price variability. (Botswana Journal of Technology: 2003 12(2): 62-69