International Journal of Civil Engineering and (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 6308 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF Technology CIVIL ENGINEERING AND

D (Print), ISSN 0976 6316(Online) Volume 4, Issue 4, July-August (2013), IAEME

TECHNOLOGY (IJCIET)

ISSN 0976 6308 (Print) ISSN 0976 6316(Online) Volume 4, Issue 4, July-August (2013), pp. 284-288 IAEME: www.iaeme.com/ijciet.asp Journal Impact Factor (2013): 5.3277 (Calculated by GISI) www.jifactor.com

IJCIET
IAEME

CONCEPTUAL COST ESTIMATES FOR BUILDINGS IN QATAR

Mohammed S. Al-Ansari Civil Engineering Department, Qatar University, P.O. Box 2713, Doha Qatar

ABSTRACT This paper presents an analytical model to estimate the cost of reinforced concrete buildings in Qatar. A conceptual estimate is defined in this paper as the estimate based on parameter cost that relates building cost to building area and cost capacity factor X is an exponential model that used to estimate the cost of new building with desired area base on a known different building cost and area. Parameter cost and cost capacity factor X values are derived based on buildings historical data. A set of values of parameter cost value and the cost capacity factor X for the state of Qatar is developed as a result of this research paper to be used to predict and estimate the projects costs and the required resources. Numerical results are presented to illustrate the model capability of estimating the building cost. Keywords: Estimation, Parameter cost, Cost capacity factor, Cost Estimate, Building, historical Data. INTRODUCTION Qatar is an Arab state with Doha as its capital; it is the capital of natural gas in the world. Qatar successful bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022 created a land of opportunity for construction. Qatar is planning to invest more than 200 billion USD$ in construction projects before the starting of the World Cup. These big projects are outside the scope of this paper; this paper will cover the analysis of small to medium budget projects. Too many companies are trying to get a share of the booming construction but they have to make the correct building cost estimation. Estimating is the process of predicting project cost and the required resources. A conceptual estimate is defined in this paper as the estimate based on parameter cost that relates building cost to building area and cost capacity factor X is an exponential model that used to estimate the cost of new building with desired area base on a known different building cost and area. Developing a set of values of parameter cost and cost capacity factor X to be used in the state of Qatar to predict and estimate the projects costs and the required resources is the objective of this paper. The methodology of developing parameter cost and cost capacity factor X consist of collecting historical data of actual buildings from consultants offices, contracting companies and government agencies, selected
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International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 6308 (Print), ISSN 0976 6316(Online) Volume 4, Issue 4, July-August (2013), IAEME historical data are shown in Table 1. Developing parameter cost and cost capacity factor X from the historical data through mathematical formulation. Finally, validation check of parameter cost and cost capacity factor X is done by comparing the estimated cost with the actual cost of the building, (1, 2, 3 and 4). Table 1 Building Historical Data Project # Building Cost Q.R. 1$ = 3.65 Q.R. 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9 . 10 . 11 . 12 .

Year

Building Area m2 659 902 6112 409 1012 5640 816 951 2680 354 766 4543

2002

2006

2009

2012

Parameter Cost and Cost Capacity Factor Parameter cost value relates the building cost to the building area:

(1)

Where Parameter Cost Building Cost =Building Area Cost capacity factor is an exponential model that used to estimate the cost of new building with desired area base on a known different building cost with different area:

(2)

Where Estimated cost of the new building Known cost of the building = Area of the new building Area of the known building Cost capacity Factor Modifying equation 2 we have:

(3)
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International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 6308 (Print), ISSN 0976 6316(Online) Volume 4, Issue 4, July-August (2013), IAEME RESULT AND DISCUSSION Calculated values of the average parameter cost value for the total building cost value from 2002 to 2012, Table 1, Fig. 1. Table 1 2002 1981 Average parameter cost value 2006 2009 1978 1809

Year . .

2012 1686

Table1 and Fig 1 show clearly that there is a drop in the cost parameter value base on the historical data even though the prices of material, labor charges, accommodation and everything relates to the contracting business. There was a drop of 0.1 % between 2002 and 2006, drop of 9.0 % between 2006 and 2009, and a drop 7% between 2009 and 2012. Drop percentages show that there is a slim drop between 2002 and 2006, a much bigger drop between 2006 and 2009 and a somewhat lower drop but still high between 2009 and 2012. The reason behind these drop percentages is the increase in the number of the contracting companies to the point that they are willing to work for zero profit to survive. The fact of the matter is that the fierce competition of the contracting companies due to their large numbers did lead indeed to big reduction in the profits sought by the companies. The reduction of building cost with zero profit does not necessarily mean a good chance for the building owner because the contractor in most cases will try to make up for his losses by lowering the building quality. The small drop percentage of 0.1 % for the years 2002 to 2006 shows the beginning of the increase of the contracting companies in the market. The high drop percentage of 9 % for the years 2006 to 2009 shows a huge increase in the number of the contracting companies. For the years 2009 to 2012 the drop percentage of 7 % indicate that some companies got out of the race, that helps the construction business to go in the right direction.

2050

Average Parameter Cost Value Q.R.

2000 1950 1900 1850 1800 1750 1700 1650

Average Parameter Cost Value

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

Fig. 1 Years of Historical Data

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International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 6308 (Print), ISSN 0976 6316(Online) Volume 4, Issue 4, July-August (2013), IAEME The cost capacity factor X values was determined using equation 3 and the historical data for the years 2002 to 2012, Table 2. Table 2 Year 2002 0.379 Cost capacity factor X 2006 0.602 2009 0.853 2012 0.856

To validate the cost capacity factor X values. The cost capacity factor for the years 2002 to 2012 X will be used to calculate the total cost of some buildings based on the historical data for the years 2006 to 2012. The calculated values of the building total cost will be compared with actual building total cost, Table 3. Table 3 Estimated Total building Cost Based on Cost capacity factor X

Building Data = Area of the new building Area of the known building Known cost of the building 902 902 1.93 x 106 1.764 x 106 1.5 x 106 1.186 x 106

Cost capacity factor X

Building Total Cost Q.R.

Year 2002

Estimated 0.379 1.98 x 106 1.887 x 106 1.8 x 106 1.238 x 106

Actual 1.93 x 106 1.764 x 106 1.5 x 106 1.186 x 106 97.5

2006 2009 2012

905 816 766

905 816 766

0.602 0.853 0.856

93.5 83.33 95.8

The tabulated values of estimated and actual cost of buildings in table 3 show that the estimated cost of the buildings based on cost capacity factor X is close to the actual cost. Therefore the cost capacity factor X could be used to estimate the cost of new buildings in Qatar, Fig. 2.

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International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 6308 (Print), ISSN 0976 6316(Online) Volume 4, Issue 4, July-August (2013), IAEME

Fig. 2 Estimated and Actual Buildings Costs CONCLUSIONS A set of values of parameter cost value and the cost capacity factor X for the state of Qatar is developed as a result of this research paper to be used to predict and estimate the projects costs and the required resources. The number of contracting companies must be limited; otherwise the fierce competition of the contracting companies due to their large numbers will lead indeed to big reduction in the profits sought by the companies. The reduction of building cost with zero profit does not necessarily mean a good chance for the building owner because the contractor in most cases will try to make up for his losses by lowering the building quality. REFERENCES 1. El Asmar, M. , Hana, A. and Whited, G. (2011). New Approach to Developing Conceptual Cost Estimates for Highway Projects, Journal of construction Engineering and Management, ASCE, pp.942-949. 2. Jadid, M. and Idrees, M. (2007). Cost estimation of structural skeleton using an interactive automation algorithm: A conceptual approach Journal of Automation in Construction, ELSEVIER, pp.797-805. 3. Park, H. (2006). Conceptual Framework of Construction Productivity Estimation, Journal of Engineering , KSCE, pp.311-317. 4. Mahamid, I. (2013). Conceptual Cost of Estimate of Roads Construction Projects in Saudi Arabia , Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering , pp.285-294. 5. Mohammed S. Al-Ansari, Flexural Safety Cost of Optimized Reinforced Concrete Beams, International Journal of Civil Engineering & Technology (IJCIET), Volume 4, Issue 2, 2013, pp. 15 - 35, ISSN Print: 0976 6308, ISSN Online: 0976 6316. 6. Mohammed S. Al-Ansari, Flexural Safety Cost of Optimized Reinforced Concrete Slabs, International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering & Technology (IJARET), Volume 3, Issue 2, 2012, pp. 289 - 310, ISSN Print: 0976-6480, ISSN Online: 0976-6499.
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