Section 5

TOTAL
PROJECT
COST

MICHAEL R. HIDALGO
BSCE 3A
TOTAL PROJECT COST

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The probable total capital cost,
often used to establish budgets for
a typical project, is made up of:

• Professional engineering costs.

• Construction cost.
• Legal and land costs.
• Owners cost, including project
administration, staffing, financing
and overhead.
• Contingency allowance for
unknowns.
 PROFESSIONAL
ENGINEERING COST
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• A civil engineer is often
engaged to make a study
and to render a planning
report on the contemplated
project including alternative
solutions, layouts, and
locations along with initial
estimates of the probable
project cost. This may
involve alternative or phase
implementation schemes
which add flexibility to the
project.
CONSTRUCTION COST

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• Is the estimated total cost of
constructing the facility to be
covered by the proposed
detailed design or construction
supervision services, excluding
the fees and other costs of such
services, the cost of land and
right of way, and legal
administrative expenses of the
agency.
• The estimated construction cost
must be approved by the client
before the invitation to submit
technical proposal is issued.
 LEGAL, LAND, ADMINISTRATION,
STAFFING AND FINANCIAL COSTS

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• These costs which include
audits, the cost of issuing
bonds, land costs, and
interest for borrowed money
during construction, are part
of the probable total project
cost and can be estimated in
cooperation with the client
because they are usually
outside the knowledge and
control of the Civil Engineer.
CONTINGENCY
ALLOWANCE
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• To provide for intangible costs,
contingencies should routinely
be added to the basic cost
estimate. It is common practice
to add 20% or more to the
estimated probable total project
cost at the completion of the
study end report phase, reducing
this to perhaps 10% at the
completion of the final design
and perhaps to 5% when the
construction bids become
known. Larger or more complex
may require higher
contingencies.
SUMMARY

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• Estimate of • The client is
probable total normally
project cost should responsible for
providing estimates
be periodically of those costs
revised by the which may lie
engineers as the outside the Civil
design moves Engineers
forward and more knowledge or
information expertise, such as
becomes known. those in the legal,
land, administrative,
and financial areas.

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