PPA upgrades infrastructure cost estimator tool
The Public Procurement Authority (PPA) has initiated processes to revise and upgrade its Unit Cost of Infrastructure Estimator Tool (UCol-ET) to improve efficiency, transparency and realism in the costing of public sector infrastructure projects.
The Unit Cost of Infrastructure Estimator Tool is an infrastructure cost estimation tool.
The revision and upgrade process forms part of efforts to address long-standing challenges over unrealistic budgeting and cost inconsistencies in public procurement.
It also seeks to provide public institutions with a more reliable basis for preparing estimates, procurement plans and budget proposals.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the PPA, Frank Mante, told the Daily Graphic last Monday, April 20, 2026, that the tool had been designed to guide public sector institutions in developing more accurate cost estimates for infrastructure projects.
He said the initiative had been reintroduced in response to persistent disparities in project costing, where similar projects were often priced differently without clear justification.
“It will not give you a 100 per cent estimate, but it will give you a fair idea of how much the estimates should be,” he said.
Mr Mante said the tool had been structured to factor in key cost elements that influence infrastructure pricing, including variations in design and location, adding that differences in project environments had often led to variations in pricing, which were sometimes misunderstood by the public.
“You can’t say two roads of the same length should cost the same because factors such as soil type and design specifications will always differ,” he said.
He said the revised tool also incorporates key cost drivers such as soil conditions, construction materials, and drainage requirements to ensure that estimates better reflect actual project conditions.
Other functions, he said, include the tool’s ability to break down projects into specific components to improve accuracy in estimating costs for facilities such as roads, schools and hospitals.
The CEO of PPA further explained that the upgraded tool had also been designed to support accountability by allowing institutions to compare projected costs with actual expenditure.
“It can be a reporting tool where you say you planned to spend X amount but ended up spending Y amount, and the variance can be explained,” he said.
He said the enhanced version would be converted into a web-based platform to ensure wider access and ease of use across public institutions and industry players without a cost fee.
Stakeholder Input
Mr Mante said lessons from the earlier version of the tool, developed in 2017, had informed the ongoing revision, particularly the need for broader stakeholder involvement, hence a working group comprising representatives from the Ghana Institution of Surveyors, Ghana Institute of Architects, Ghana Institution of Engineering and the Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) had been formed to lead the process.
Background reforms
The PPA introduced the UCol-ET in 2017 following concerns over the lack of credible cost data and the reliance on estimation methods that did not reflect actual project requirements.
The current revision, which began in 2024, has been carried out through a stakeholder-driven approach to improve functionality and encourage adoption within the construction sector.
