Tenders by trade

Construction & general contracting tenders

General contracting is the widest category on the eTenders feed, covering building works, refurbishment, maintenance contracts and the mixed-scope packages that municipalities put out most often.

Open now
451
On record
4 855
Awards published
614
Total awarded
R 4 579 047 808
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Open general contracting tenders

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Largest published general contracting awards

Open work by category

  • 198 Services: General
  • 132 Construction
  • 34 Civil engineering
  • 32 Construction of buildings
  • 31 Services: Civil
  • 19 Services: Building
  • 5 Specialised construction activities

Open work by province

  • 94 KwaZulu-Natal
  • 83 Western Cape
  • 70 Eastern Cape
  • 49 Mpumalanga
  • 44 Gauteng

About general contracting procurement

No single heading on the feed is called general contracting. The work that belongs here arrives under construction, building services and general services families at the same time, which is why this hub is assembled from several category names rather than one. A main contractor pricing new build, refurbishment and term maintenance would otherwise watch four separate headings to see one set of opportunities.

Construction works are the part of public procurement where registration is checked before anything else is read. The Construction Industry Development Board grades contractors from 1 to 9 inside a class of works, and general building is the class most general contracting bids fall into. Each grade carries a maximum contract value, and bidding above the grade you hold is a disqualification rather than something to explain afterwards.

Scope in a building tender is often only fully explained on site, which is why briefing sessions carry so much weight in this trade. Where the invitation marks a briefing compulsory, the signed attendance register is the proof that you were there, and a bid from a contractor who did not sign it is normally set aside before evaluation begins. Briefing dates and venues appear on every listing the buyer published them for.

Where general contracting is tendering

Open tenders right now. Counts come from the same feed as the list above.

Questions about general contracting tenders

Do I need a CIDB grading to bid on construction tenders?
For construction works, almost always. The invitation states a class of works and a minimum grade, and the bid is checked against the CIDB register before anything is evaluated. Supply, service and maintenance contracts that are not construction works frequently state no grading at all.
What is the difference between CIDB class GB and class CE?
GB is general building and CE is civil engineering. A general contracting business registered only in GB cannot bid work advertised as CE, and a joint venture is assessed in its own right rather than taking the grade of its strongest partner.
Is a compulsory briefing session really compulsory?
Yes. Where the tender marks it compulsory, the attendance register is the record, and a bid without a signature on it is usually returned unread. Roughly four in ten of the open tenders on the feed carry a compulsory briefing, so check the date before you plan the week.
What goes into a general contracting bid submission?
A CSD supplier number, a valid tax compliance status, the CIDB certificate where the work is construction works, the standard bid documents the invitation lists, and a priced bill of quantities or schedule of rates. The tender document is the authority on which of those apply to a general contracting bid.
Can I be told when new construction tenders open?
Yes. An Industrial Hub account lets you save the trades and provinces you work in. Starter emails up to 3 new matches a day immediately and sends one WhatsApp summary daily; Professional sends up to 3 matching WhatsApp alerts a day within thirty minutes.

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