How to tender a fit-out contract
How to run a retail or commercial fit-out tender in the Gulf — documents to issue, how to compare bids, and the six clauses that decide the handover date.
Read it →CMA International contracts for retail and commercial fit-out under six routes — turnkey main contract, design and build, trade subcontract package, supply and install, framework or rollout agreement, and fit-out management. The route is agreed before pricing, so nobody discovers a scope gap at award. Aayan Technical Company Limited (ATCL) has delivered 150+ projects from its Jeddah base since 2003.
Every route below is one we will hold. Which one suits you depends on how much of the interface risk you want to carry yourself.
| Route | What it means | What we carry | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turnkey main contract | We hold the whole fit-out package direct with the brand, operator or landlord | Bare shell to opening day, one tender sum, one programme, one defects-liability period | Brands taking a unit and wanting one name on the contract |
| Design & build | We take the concept or brand manual and carry the detailed design as well as the build | Shop drawings, material selection, authority and mall submittals, then construction | Clients with a concept pack but no local detailer |
| Subcontract package | We take one or more trade packages under another main contractor | MEP, metal fabrication, joinery, façade or finishes, priced and programmed as a package | Main contractors short of in-house trade capacity |
| Supply & install | We fabricate in our own workshop and install to your programme | Shopfronts, signage, structural steel, retail fixtures, balustrades, counters | Rollouts where only the fabricated scope is outsourced |
| Framework / rollout agreement | One agreed rate schedule and specification applied store after store | Repeat units called off against a master agreement, with a fixed per-store programme | Retail groups opening multiple stores in a season |
| Fit-out management | We run the trades and the programme on your behalf without holding the trade contracts | Procurement, sequencing, quality control, snagging and handover documentation | Landlords and operators keeping direct contracts with specialists |
Six documents, every time. A bid you cannot level against the others is not a bid.
Sending a fit-out tender out across the Gulf? We will bid it.
Send the tender documents →Written for the person running the tender, not for search engines. General contracting practice — the specifics of your project still need a conversation.
How to run a retail or commercial fit-out tender in the Gulf — documents to issue, how to compare bids, and the six clauses that decide the handover date.
Read it →What a fit-out contractor pre-qualification pack should contain — legal, financial, technical and HSE evidence — and how tender committees actually score it.
Read it →What a fit-out Bill of Quantities contains, how provisional sums and prime cost items work, and how to read a BOQ so two bids can actually be compared.
Read it →When to appoint a single fit-out main contractor and when to let trade packages separately — how the risk, the programme and the snag list change with each.
Read it →How design-and-build works on a retail or commercial fit-out — what the contractor takes on, where the design risk sits, and when it beats a traditional route.
Read it →How multi-store retail rollout and framework agreements work — rate schedules, call-off orders, standard store programmes and what changes city to city.
Read it →How fit-out variations are instructed and valued, what makes a claim for an extension of time succeed, and how to keep a project's cost from drifting.
Read it →How fit-out contracts are paid — advance payments, interim valuations, retention, final account and release — and the terms worth negotiating before award.
Read it →How mall fit-out works — the tenant handbook, NOCs, base-build handover condition, working hours, hoarding and the approvals that decide your opening date.
Read it →Six: turnkey main contract, design and build, trade subcontract package, supply and install, framework or rollout agreement across multiple stores, and fit-out management where the client keeps the trade contracts. The route is agreed before the bid is priced.
A priced Bill of Quantities, a method statement, a dated programme showing approval milestones as their own line, material submittals, a site-specific HSE plan, and the company and legal pack — Commercial Registration, Chamber of Commerce membership, VAT registration and insurance certificates.
Yes. ATCL is a Saudi-registered contractor based in Jeddah and takes Gulf work in the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain — contracting through a locally licensed partner, as a subcontractor to a locally licensed main contractor, or on a supply-and-install basis. The route is stated on the bid before award.
Yes. MEP, metal fabrication, joinery, façade and signage or finishes can be taken as individual trade packages under another main contractor, priced and programmed as a package.
Send the drawings, the brand fit-out manual, the base-build handover condition and the target handover date to WhatsApp +966 50 259 0825 or cma83j@gmail.com. We will confirm the contract route we are bidding under and return a priced, programmed bid.
Since 2003, and without a pause since 2005 — 23 years, with 150+ completed retail, F&B and commercial interior projects delivered from the Jeddah base.