MAJOR RATES

1 Excavating basements; not exceeding 2.00m deep

2 Excavating for footings; not exceeding 1.50m deep
3 Remove excavated materials off site
4 150mm thick Hardcore bed blinded with fine materials
5 Mass concrete grade 15
6 Reinforced concrete grade 30
7 Mild steel rod reinforcement
8 High tensile rod reinforcement
9 Sawn formwork to soffits of suspended slabs
10 Sawn formwork to columns and walls
11 "Kliplok Colorbond" 0.64mm profiled steel sheeting
12 Aluminum casement windows, single glazed
13 Structural steelwork-beams, stanchions and the like
14 Steelwork-angles, channels, flats and the like
15 25mm cement and sand (1:3) paving
16 20mm cement and sand (1:4) plaster to walls
17 Ceramic tiles bedded to floor screed (m/s)
18 12mm fibrous plasterboard ceiling lining
19 Two coats of emulsion paint to plastered surfaces
20 Average expected preliminaries

m3
m3
m3
m3
m3
m3
kg
kg
m2
m2
m2
m2
kg
kg
m2
m2
m2
m2
m2
%

* The above costs are based on lump sum fixed price contract rate exclusive of
preliminaries and contingencies unless otherwise stated

ESTIMATING RULES OF THUMB

Concrete
Cement
Sand
Gravel
Steel

Densities of Common Materials

2400 kg/m3 Water
1441 kg/m3 Softwood
1600 kg/m3 Hardwood
1350 kg/m3 Aluminum
7850 kg/m3 Soil (compact)

1000 kg/m3
700 kg/m3
1100 kg/m3
2750 kg/m3
2100 kg/m3

Concrete: Minimum Recommended Cement Factor Based on Concrete Strength

(in bags of 40kg cement)
Strength
Psi
Mpa
8000
55
7000
48
6000
41
5000
35
4000
28
3000
21

Ordinary Design Mix

Pumpcrete Design
1
Gravel Size
Gravel Size
21
22
23
19
20
21
17
18
19
15
16
17
11.75
12.75
14.5
9
10
11.5

350.00
300.00
400.00
3,000.00
3,500.00
5,000.00
42.00
43.00
900.00
850.00
1,100.00
9,500.00
105.00
95.00
350.00
350.00
1,300.00
1,300.00
450.00
8-15

Reinforcement
Bar Diameter
Weight/m
(mm)
(kg/m)
6
0.222
8
0.395
10
0.616
12
0.888
16
1.579
20
2.466
25
3.854
28
4.834
32
6.313
36
7.990
40
9.864

Structure Design Concrete Ratios

The following is a range of concrete ratios for building superstructure design in Manila:
Concrete/ floor area
Formwork/floor area
Reinforcement

0.4 m3/m2 to 0.55 m3/m2

2.0 m2/m2 to 3.0 m2/m2
180 kg/m3 to 280 kg/m3

Average External Wall/ Floor Ratio

Residential Apartments
0.35 m2/m2
Office, Hotel
0.4 m2/m2
Industrial
0.4 m2/m2

Average Internal Wall/ Floor Ratio

Residential Apartments
1.0 m2/m2
Office, Hotel
0.5 m2/m2
Industrial
1.5 m2/m2
Dimensions for standard parking space, loading/ unloading bays and lay-bys
Length
(m)
Private Cars, Taxis and Light Vans
Coaches and Buses
Lorries
Container Vehicles

5
12
11
16

Width
(m)
2.5
3.0
3.5
3.5

Headroom
(m)
2.4
3.8
4.1
4.5

* Minimum headroom means the clearance between the floor and the lower most projection from the ceiling including
any lightings units, ventilation duct, conduits or similar.
** The above ratios are indicative and for reference purpose only. They do not account for buildings with special shapes,
configurations or particularly small footprints.

1 MPa
1m
1 km
1.5 hp

Conversion
145 psi
3.281 ft
0.621 mi
1 TR

Construction Costs for Philippines

PESO/m2
DESCRIPTION

BUILDING

M & E TOTAL
SERVICES

TOTAL

DOMESTIC
Apartments, high rise, average standard
Apartments, high rise, high end
Terraced houses, average standard
Detached houses, high end

27,000 34,000
37,500 43,800
23,000 26,400
46,000 51,000

7,000 10,700
9,700 15,400
2,700 4,600
7,900 12,150

34,000 44,700
47,200 59,200
25,700 31,000
53,900 63,150

OFFICE/COMMERCIAL
Medium/high rise offices, average standard
High rise offices, prestige quality
Out-of-town shopping center, ave. standard
Retail malls, high end

25,000 27,500
40,200 45,500
23,800 27,100
32,500 41,500

9,450 13,300
13,150 17,100
6,925 12,580
8,150 14,800

34,450 40,800
53,350 62,600
30,725 39,680
40,650 56,300

HOTELS
Budget hotels 3 star, mid market
Business hotels 4/5 star
Luxury hotels 5 star

34,000 46,700
35,100 46,800
49,100 54,200

12,400 16,050
13,500 20,400
14,250 23,600

46,400 62,750
48,600 67,200
63,350 77,800

13,200 14,200

3,950 7,200

17,150 21,400

15,400 16,600

3,950 7,200

19,350 23,800

16,800 17,300

3,950 7,200

20,750 24,500

14,200 16,500

3,550 6,800

17,750 23,300

19,500 22,200
22,500 24,800

7,050 13,000
7,000 10,500

26,550 35,200
29,500 35,300

45,500 53,100

6,200 9,720

51,700 62,820

41,600 48,600

12,600 20,350

54,200 68,950

INDUSTRIAL
Industrial units, shell only (conventional
single storey framed units)
Owner operated factories, low rise, light
weight industry
OTHERS
Underground/basement car parks (<3 levels)
Multi storey car parks, above ground (<4
levels)
Schools (primary & secondary)
Students residences
Sports clubs, multi-purpose sports/leisure
centers(dry sports) with a/c and including FF
&E
General hospitals public sector

* Costs are at 4th quarter 2014 levels. Manila building costs are expected to increase by approximately 0.5% per month
(compounded) during 2015.

DESCRIPTION

TOTAL
SERVICES

PESO/m2
ELECTRICAL MECHANICAL
SERVICES
SERVICES

FIRE
SERVICES

LIFTS/
ESCALATOR

PLUMBING
SERVICES

DOMESTIC
Apartments, high rise, average
standard
Apartments, high rise, high end
Terraced houses, average standard
Detached houses, high end
OFFICE/COMMERCIAL
Medium/ high rise offices, average
standard
High rise offices prestige quality
Out-of-town shopping center,
average standard
Retail malls, high end
HOTELS
Budget hotels 3 star, mid market
Business hotels 4/5 star
Luxury hotels 5 star
INDUSTRIAL
Industrial units, shell only
(conventional single storey framed
units)
Owner operated factories, low rise,
lightweight industry
OTHERS
Underground/basement car parks
(<3 levels)
Multi storey car parks, above
ground (<4 levels)
Schools (primary & secondary)
Students residences
Sports clubs, multi-purpose
sports/leisure centers (dry sports)
with a/c and including FF & E
General hospitals public sector

7,000 10,700

3,600 4,300

600 1,400

600 900

800 2,000

1,400 2,100

9,700 15,400
2,700 4,600
7,900 12,150

3,900 6,300
1,400 1,800
3,000 5,500

2,100 3,000
600 1,300
2,500 2,950

700 1,300
-

900 2,100
-

2,100 2,700
700 1,500
2,400 3,700

9,450 13,300

3,300 4,700

3,000 4,000

650 900

1,600 2,200

900 1,500

13,150 17,100

4,800 6,000

4,000 5,000

650 1,200

2,200 2,900

1,500 2000

6,925 12,580

3,060 5,100

2,125 3,825

550 765

595 1,700

595 1,190

8,150 14,800

3,600 6,000

2,500 4,500

650 - 900

700 2,000

700 1,400

12,400 16,050
13,500 20,400
14,250 23,600

4,700 5,500
5,100 6,500
5,400 9,000

3,300 4,500
3,800 6,200
4,000 6,500

650 950
600 1,000
650 1,100

1,800 2,300
1,700 2,900
1,800 3,000

1,950 2,800
2,300 3,800
2,400 4,000

3,950 7,200

2,000 3,500

650 1,500

600 900

700 1,300

3,950 7,200

2,000 3,500

650 1,500

600 900

700 1,300

3,950 7,200

2,000 3,500

650 1,500

600 900

700 1,300

3,550 6,800

1,800 3,300

450 1,300

600 900

700 1,300

7,050 13,000
7,000 10,500

3,300 4,900
3,600 4,300

600 3,500
600 1,400

650 900
600 900

1,600 2,200
800 1,800

900 1,500
1,400 2,100

6,200 9,720

2,900 3,770

1,500 1,950

400 700

-- 1,500

1,400 1,800

12,600 20,350

5,000 7,700

4,200 6,500

750 1,500

900 1,800

1,750 2,850

*Costs are at 4th quarter 2014 levels

Trends:

M & E MAJOR PLANT COSTS FOR THE PHILIPPINES

DESCRIPTION
1. Water cooled electric chiller
2. Air-cooled electric chillers
3. Cooling towers; induced draft
4. Air Handling Units (AHU)
5. Packaged Water-Cooled Units
(PWCU)
6. Fire Pumps; electric motor driven
7. Fire Pumps; diesel engine driven
8. Standby generator sets
9. Power transformers, with built-in
primary protections; padmount
10. Power transformers, with primary
protection; silicon oil filled
11. Power transformers, with primary
protection cast resin
12. Sewage Treatment Plant,
Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR);
including civil works

UNIT
per TR
per TR
per GPM
per TR

COST (Php)
16,000 28,000
25,000 35,000
2,300 3,000
13,000 19,000

per TR

18,000 27,000

per HP
per HP
per kVA

17,000 22,000
22,000 26,000
5,500 9,500

per kVA

1,600 6,000

per kVA

1,300 4,400

per kVA

2,000 5,000

per m3/day

20,000 30,000

* Rates are based on direct supply of imported equipment and materials by the developer
** Rates include all government imposed taxes, import duties, brokerage fees and allowances for local materials and
installation cost
*** Rates exclude preliminaries and contingencies
**** Rates are by on fixed price tenders received in 4th quarter 2014

FIT-OUT COSTS FOR PHILIPPINES

DESCRIPTION
HOTELS
Public Areas (Front of House):
3-star Hotel
4-star Hotel
5-star Hotel
Guest rooms:
3-star hotel
4-star hotel
5-star hotel
Notes:
1. Includes furniture,floor,wall and ceiling finishes,
drapery,sanitary fittings and light fittings
2. Excludes partitioning,M&E works,building shell,
Chandelier,operational items and equipment (e.g.
bed,cutlery,crockery,linen,television,refrigerator,etc.),
opening expenses,stage equipment and computer
systems

PESO/m2

18,000 22,000
24,000 28,000
30,000 up
16,000 18,000
20,000 25,000
30,000 40,000

COMMERCIAL
Shopping centers
Notes:
1. Mall/Public areas only; tenant area to be bare
finish
2. See notes 1,2 & 3 below

20,000 25,000

NOTE:
1. Costs are at December 2014 levels
2. Costs include wall, floor, ceiling finishes, doors, FF&E, M&E Works service reticulation, preliminaries
Forex US$1:44.5

DESCRIPTION

PESO/m2

OFFICES
Standard offices *
Executive offices **
Banking lobby ***
* Medium quality systems furniture
** High quality furniture and finishes
*** Imported stone finishes; double volume spaces
Note:
See notes 1, 2 & 3 below
RESTAURANTS
General dining restaurant
Fine dining restaurant

20,000 25,000

Note:
Includes furniture,floor,wall and ceiling finishes,minor
alteration to air-conditioning and fire services
installation to suit lay-out,exhaust for kitchen but
excludes exhaust flue,operational items (e.g. cutlery,
crockery,linen,utensils,etc.)

3. Costs exclude operational equipment and supplies, structure, external enclosure, major M&E plant, financing
and developers costs, professional and marketing fees.
DESCRIPTION
THEATRES / CINEMAS
Theatres *
Cinemas **
* Includes stage rigging and equipment, draperies,
AV equipment projectors, screens, acoustics and
seatings
** Includes screens, projection equipment, seats,
finishes, ticketing booth

PESO/m2
40,000 65,000
25,000 40,000

AUDITORIUMS

35,000 60,000

BUSINESS CLUBS

50,000 70,000

BAR/ BILLIARDS*

32,000 40,000

* Excluding kitchen equipment

NOTE:
1. Costs are at December 2014 Levels
2. Costs include wall, floor, ceiling finishes, doors, FF&E, M&E Works service reticulation, preliminaries.
Forex US$1:44.50
3. Costs exclude operational equipment and supplies, structure, external enclosure, major M&E plant, financing
and developers costs, professional and marketing fees

Average Loads
Lorry (24 ton)
Concrete truck (24 ton)

Volume
10.0 m3
5.5 m3