Quantity Surveying
We understand that controlling costs is critical to every client. Chenla’s Quantity Surveying and Cost Consulting services ensure financial transparency and value-for-money throughout your project.
Backed by in-depth local knowledge and international standards, our bilingual QS team helps you budget accurately, evaluate bids, and control variations without sacrificing quality.
Our QS Services Include
📐 Cost Planning & Estimation
- Preliminary budgeting
- Quantity take-offs and unit-rate analysis
- Market benchmarking
- Design cost checks
📄 Tender Management
- Detailed Bills of Quantity (BoQ)
- Tender package preparation
- Bid clarification & analysis
- Transparent recommendation reports
📊 Contract Administration
- Review of payment claims
- Variation valuation
- Cash flow forecasting
- Cost control reporting
📈 Final Account & Close-out
- Reconciliation of all costs
- Negotiation & settlement
- Full documentation trail
Why Clients Choose Chenla for QS
Independent, Professional Advice
We represent you — not contractors.
Market Insight
Accurate cost data and benchmarking.
Transparent Processes
Traceable documentation and open reporting.
Tri-lingual Communication
Thai, Khmer, and English clarity.
Detail-Oriented
We sweat the details so you don’t get blindsided.
Cost Confidence
Control, predictability, and financial clarity.
Case Study
Sovannaphum Special Economic Zone – Quantity Surveying Support
Post-award QS and contract administration support for large-scale civil and infrastructure works in a 204-hectare economic zone.
Executive Summary
Chenla supported the development of core infrastructure for the Sovannaphum Special Economic Zone, a 204-hectare industrial project in Kandal Province. The client needed clear commercial structure, transparent reporting, and consistent cost control across 25 contract packages delivered by eight contractors. We established disciplined cost baselines, structured tenders, implemented digital dashboards, and administered contracts to keep financial decisions transparent and predictable.
Project Snapshot
- Client
- Confidential industrial developer
- Location
- Kandal Province, Cambodia
- Site Area
- 204 hectares
- Contract Value
- Approx. USD 8 million
- Duration
- Multi-year infrastructure programme
- Services Delivered
- Cost planning, BoQ and tender support, Contract administration, Payment certification, Variation assessment, Final account
The Challenge
The context, constraints, and risks shaping the project from the start.
The client needed to deliver the core civil and infrastructure systems for a new economic zone—including roads, drainage, sewage networks, medium-voltage power distribution, street lighting, telecoms, water and re-use water networks, pumping stations, and treatment facilities. These works had to be executed in parallel not only to meet aggressive investor timelines, but also to ensure that the first three tenants—whose own construction was happening simultaneously—could receive essential utilities on time.
Complexity
- 25 contract packages delivered by 8 contractors working simultaneously.
- Coordination with contractors, consultants and tenants from five nationalities, each with different standards and communication styles.
- Interconnected infrastructure systems with complex interfaces.
- Material price instability requiring ongoing validation.
What Was at Stake
Without strong cost control, the client risked delays, cost overruns, unclear liabilities, and difficulty reporting to incoming international investors.
How Chenla Stepped In
The targeted actions we took to resolve the core issues.
Chenla entered the project post-award, inheriting a complex, pre-tendered package structure. We focused on making the system workable: clarifying scope, bringing consistency to documentation, supporting tendering for supplementary packages, and enforcing transparent cost control through construction to final account.
Key Actions
- Assessed and organized the Owner’s pre-tendered 25-package, multi-contractor structure.
- Standardized Bills of Quantities and technical breakdowns to improve consistency.
- Managed tender processes for additional packages introduced during construction.
- Reviewed, evaluated, and certified monthly payment applications.
- Negotiated and assessed variation orders and contractor claims.
- Maintained up-to-date cost and variation dashboards using Grist.
- Prepared reconciled final accounts with full supporting documentation.
Solution Highlights
What Chenla delivered to address the project's challenges.
Structuring a Complex, Evolving Package Framework
We rationalized an expanding set of Owner-initiated packages, improving scope clarity and documentation consistency across trades.
Creating Transparent Valuation Frameworks
We established clear, auditable foundations for valuations and variations through validated quantities and standardized rules.
Digital Contract Administration
We used Grist dashboards to track IPCs, variations, approvals, and contractor status, creating a single source of truth.
Closing Out with Confidence
We consolidated payments, variations, and adjustments into a structured final account with full traceability.
Outcomes
What changed for the client as a direct result of our intervention.
Operational Results
- 25 contract packages structured and documented.
- Dashboards showing payment status and variation exposure.
- Monthly IPCs certified on schedule.
- Systematic variation evaluation.
- Final account issued with full documentation.
Client Benefits
- Strong cost confidence and predictability.
- Reduced coordination risk across 8 contractors.
- Earlier intervention through transparent reporting.
- Better governance through reconciled commercial records.
PROJECT DOCUMENTATION & OUTPUTS
Cost plan summary
High-level cost breakdown used to set initial budgets for all infrastructure systems.
BoQ vs as-built comparison
Comparison of BoQ quantities against as-built quantities.
Monthly payment dashboard (Grist)
Summary of IPCs, attachments, allocations, and paid/unpaid status.
Variation order dashboard (Grist)
VO log showing cost exposure, approval status, and change origins.
Final account summary
Reconciled final account including variations and executed works.
Quantity take-off using A+QS
Reinforcement take-off linked to CAD using A+QS.
QS Workflow
How we structured and delivered the work from planning to handover.
Our workflow ensures traceable measurement, disciplined valuation, and transparent reporting from first cost plan to final account.
Inputs, Scope Review & Measurement
- Gather drawings and specifications.
- Confirm measurement rules and valuation method.
- Clarify package boundaries and interfaces.
- Perform traceable take-offs using A+QS.
BoQs & Quantities Management
- Develop or refine structured BoQs.
- Benchmark unit rates.
- Identify design gaps and potential risks.
- Benchmark rates when relevant.
Procurement & Supplementary Tender Support
- Manage tendering of additional or late-introduced packages.
- Prepare comparison sheets and recommendations.
- Support clarifications and scope alignment for bidders.
Contract Administration
- Assess and certify monthly payment applications.
- Apply retention, adjustments, and contractual rules.
- Maintain contractor status and approval workflow.
- Provide commercial and contractual guidance.
Change Control & Variation Management
- Implement disciplined change-control procedures.
- Evaluate variation orders and claims.
- Maintain variation, delay, and risk logs.
- Update dashboards for transparency.
Cost Forecasting & Final Account
- Forecast final account position throughout the project.
- Identify emerging risks and cost impacts.
- Prepare reconciled final accounts with full documentation.
- Ensure traceability and alignment with contract rules.
Looking for cost control on your project?
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