What percentage of the contract sum are preliminaries in Malaysia?

Between 5% and 10% on most building projects. A factory or warehouse of RM 5 to 20 million usually prices at 5% to 8%; a small residential job runs higher, 8% to 10%, because the fixed costs (hoarding, signboard, site office, insurances) are spread over a small contract sum. High-rise work with tower cranes and hoists sits at the top of the range or above it.

What is included in preliminaries?

The items the contractor needs to run the site: site establishment (hoarding, signboard, offices, kongsi, stores), temporary services (electricity, water, security), setting out, erosion and sediment control, supervision and staff, insurances, the performance bond, statutory payments such as the CIDB levy and stamp duty, plant, scaffolding, and general obligations under the specification such as protection, cleaning and as-built records.

Should preliminaries be a lump sum or itemised?

Itemised, wherever the form of contract allows. A single lump sum for 'comply with the specification' cannot be checked against the market, and it cannot be valued fairly in progress claims. An itemised bill separates fixed charges (paid when the item is set up), time-related charges (paid monthly) and charges paid at completion, which is how the PAM and JKR forms expect preliminaries to be valued.

How are preliminaries paid in progress claims?

Fixed items such as hoarding, the signboard and the site office are paid when they are in place; time-related items such as supervision, security, temporary services and plant are paid month by month over the contract period; removal and final cleaning are paid at completion. Where the bill is a lump sum, the QS usually splits it on the same basis before the first claim.

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Preliminaries rates, Malaysia

What the preliminaries of a Malaysian building contract cost, item by item: hoarding and signboard, site office and kongsi, erosion control, temporary services, supervision, insurances and bonds, statutory levies, plant and scaffolding, and what preliminaries come to as a share of the contract sum.

RINGGIT MALAYSIA · KLANG VALLEY · UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2026

Preliminaries are the contractor's costs of running the site rather than building the work: the things the bill lists before the trades start. On a Malaysian tender they are either priced as a lump sum against the specification or itemised, and the itemised bill is the one a quantity surveyor can check line by line and value month by month.

The table gives the rates we see priced against those items on Klang Valley tenders. Lump-sum items are for a medium project (RM 5 to 20 million, 12 to 18 months) unless the item says otherwise; the percentages are of the contract sum.

Rates are in Ringgit Malaysia for the Klang Valley and come from tenders and subcontractor quotations priced by WE Quantity Surveyor for recent projects. They are all-in rates at the trade level: material, labour, plant and wastage are included; the main contractor's profit and attendance, preliminaries (unless the page is about preliminaries) and any applicable SST are not. Where a range is shown, the low end is usually a large, simple job and the high end a small or awkward one. Use them to check a budget or a tender, not in place of a quotation for your own project.

Site establishment Erosion and sediment control (ESCP)Temporary services Staff and supervision Insurances, bonds and statutory Plant and scaffolding Preliminaries as a whole Questions

Site establishment

Site establishment: all-in rates, RM, Klang Valley, September 2026
Item	Unit	Rate (RM)	Notes
Site hoarding, 2.1 to 2.4 m high metal deck sheeting on steel posts with concrete footing, including maintenance and removal on completionResidential at the low end, factory and warehouse sites at the high end	m	280 – 380	Residential at the low end, factory and warehouse sites at the high end
Extra over hoarding for a double-leaf site access gate	no.	3,000 – 6,000
Project signboard to local-authority requirements: supply, erect, maintain and remove	no.	5,000 – 8,000
Site office and toilet, small project, for the contract periodCabin, sanitary connection and cleaning	item	5,000 – 10,000	Cabin, sanitary connection and cleaning
Kongsi (workers' quarters) and site store, medium project	item	30,000 – 40,000
Temporary works and services: access road, temporary drains and culverts	item	10,000 – 30,000
Levels and setting out of the works by a licensed surveyor, medium project	item	20,000 – 30,000
General site clearance of light vegetation and debris, including cart away	m²	5 – 10

Erosion and sediment control (ESCP)

Erosion and sediment control (ESCP): all-in rates, RM, Klang Valley, September 2026
Item	Unit	Rate (RM)	Notes
Wash trough (wheel wash) at the site exit, including maintenance	no.	20,000 – 30,000
Silt trap, including maintenance and desiltingSmall residential site at the low end	no.	3,000 – 10,000	Small residential site at the low end
Sediment (silt) fence	m	35 – 40
Earth drain with earth bund	m	45 – 55
Check dam	no.	80
Gabion basket 1 m x 1 m x 1 m, filled with rock	no.	220 – 260

Temporary services

Temporary services: all-in rates, RM, Klang Valley, September 2026
Item	Unit	Rate (RM)
Temporary electricity supply, distribution boards and lighting, medium project, for the contract period	item	15,000 – 25,000
Temporary water supply, medium project, for the contract period	item	5,000 – 10,000
Site security (guards), medium project, for the contract period	item	20,000 – 30,000

Staff and supervision

Staff and supervision: all-in rates, RM, Klang Valley, September 2026
Item	Unit	Rate (RM)	Notes
Foreman-in-charge / site supervisor, full time for the contract period, medium projectSalary and on-costs	item	120,000 – 150,000	Salary and on-costs

Insurances, bonds and statutory

Insurances, bonds and statutory: all-in rates, RM, Klang Valley, September 2026
Item	Unit	Rate (RM)	Notes
Contractor's All Risks (CAR) insurance	% of contract sum	0.15 – 0.25
Workmen's compensation / employer's liability insurance	% of contract sum	0.08 – 0.10
Performance bond of 5% of the contract sum: cost of the bank guarantee or insurance bond for the contract period	% of contract sum	0.3 – 0.5
CIDB levy (Act 520) on contracts above RM 500,000Statutory rate	% of contract sum	0.125	Statutory rate
Stamp duty on the contractAd valorem on the contract sum; confirm the current rate with the stamping office	% of contract sum	0.1	Ad valorem on the contract sum; confirm the current rate with the stamping office
Contract documents: printing, binding and signing sets	item	10,000 – 16,000

Plant and scaffolding

Plant and scaffolding: all-in rates, RM, Klang Valley, September 2026
Item	Unit	Rate (RM)
Scaffolding for all trades, medium project: erect, hire for the contract period and dismantle	item	50,000
Plant and equipment (hoist, crane hire, compaction, generators), medium industrial project	% of contract sum	1.5 – 2.5

Preliminaries as a whole

Preliminaries as a whole: all-in rates, RM, Klang Valley, September 2026
Item	Unit	Rate (RM)
Preliminaries, small residential project (bungalow, RM 0.5 to 1 million)	% of contract sum	8 – 10
Preliminaries, factory or warehouse (RM 5 to 20 million)	% of contract sum	5 – 8

Questions we get asked

What percentage of the contract sum are preliminaries in Malaysia?: Between 5% and 10% on most building projects. A factory or warehouse of RM 5 to 20 million usually prices at 5% to 8%; a small residential job runs higher, 8% to 10%, because the fixed costs (hoarding, signboard, site office, insurances) are spread over a small contract sum. High-rise work with tower cranes and hoists sits at the top of the range or above it.
What is included in preliminaries?: The items the contractor needs to run the site: site establishment (hoarding, signboard, offices, kongsi, stores), temporary services (electricity, water, security), setting out, erosion and sediment control, supervision and staff, insurances, the performance bond, statutory payments such as the CIDB levy and stamp duty, plant, scaffolding, and general obligations under the specification such as protection, cleaning and as-built records.
Should preliminaries be a lump sum or itemised?: Itemised, wherever the form of contract allows. A single lump sum for 'comply with the specification' cannot be checked against the market, and it cannot be valued fairly in progress claims. An itemised bill separates fixed charges (paid when the item is set up), time-related charges (paid monthly) and charges paid at completion, which is how the PAM and JKR forms expect preliminaries to be valued.
How are preliminaries paid in progress claims?: Fixed items such as hoarding, the signboard and the site office are paid when they are in place; time-related items such as supervision, security, temporary services and plant are paid month by month over the contract period; removal and final cleaning are paid at completion. Where the bill is a lump sum, the QS usually splits it on the same basis before the first claim.

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Rates compiled by WE Quantity Surveyor, a BQSM-registered quantity surveying practice in Kuala Lumpur, from its own tender pricing. They are published as general guidance for the Malaysian construction industry; no liability is accepted for their use on any particular project. Reproduction with a link to this page is welcome.