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CANON 7

Civil Engineers shall continue their professional

development throughout their careers, and shall
provide opportunities for the professional development
of those Civil Engineers under their supervision.
 TOTAL PROJECT COST
1. General
2. Professional Engineering Costs
3. Construction Cost
4. Legal, Land, Administration, Staffing and
Financial Costs
5. Contingency Allowance
GENERAL

Probable cost is a major concern of the client throughout

the planning, design, and construction phases of a
project. The probable total capital project cost, often
used to establish budgets for a typical project is made
up of:
 PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING
COSTS
A civil engineer is often engaged to make a study and to render a planning report on
the contemplated project, including the alternative solutions, layouts, and
locations along with initial estimates of the probable project cost. These may
involve alternative or phased implementation schemes which add flexibility to
the project.
The study and report phase may include the cost for field or traffic surveys, planning
analyses, geotechnical explorations and analyses, in addition to the direct
engineering costs. The costs of coordination, evaluation implementation and
compliance have increased correspondingly. The extent of these concerns may
not be identified during the study and report phase, and sometimes not even
after final and specifications have been prepared. As a result, the estimated
probable total cost of the project based on the study and report phase must be
understood to be preliminary in nature.
Because projects vary widely in nature and scope, the
study and report phase is important because its
implementation determines the scope and
development of the entire project and its ultimate
capital and lifestyle cost. At times, preliminary
investigations become extensive and lengthy that
the study and report phase cost as much or more
than the final design phase.
During the final design and construction phase,
additional surveying and geotechnical engineering
services may be needed. Also special or additional
engineering services not originally identified may
be required by the client or recommended by the
Civil Engineer.
CONSTRUCTION COST
The study and report phase of the project usually includes a
preliminary estimate of the construction cost for the
contemplated project and for alternative project configurations.
Such cost estimates are approximate, since the final design
drawings and specifications have not yet been prepared. In
addition, the timing of the construction work must be considered
because inflation will affect the construction cost.
Construction cost 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

These costs, which include audits, the cost of issuing bonds, land
costs, and interest for borrowed money during construction, are
part of the probable cost and can best be estimated in
cooperation with client because they are usually outside the
knowledge and control of the Civil Engineer.
CONTINGENCY ALLOWANCE

As the project moves forward from the study and report phase through the final
design phase and finally to construction award, more becomes known about
project details and costs, until at the completion of the project, the final
project becomes a known quantity.
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 and end
report phase, reducing this to perhaps 10% at the completion of final design
and perhaps to 5% when the construction bids become known. Larger or
more complex projects may require higher contingencies.
 SUMMARY

Estimate of probable total project cost should be periodically

revised by the engineers as the design moves forward and more
information becomes known. The client is normally responsible
for providing estimates of these costs which may be outside the
Civil Engineer’s knowledge or expertise, such as those in legal,
land, administrative, and financial areas.