It's very easy to look at numbers and think 'well? so? isn't that what things cost? what's the big deal?.' But this contract is - apparently - for a fit out at a rate of €1,430 per metre or €133 per square foot.
That's not a total construction cost. That's a fit-out. It helps sometimes to reduce these numbers to a level where we can easily compare them to something more familiar. A few examples will assist:
I have an office of circa 1400 square feet and it is adequate and functional. The fit-out cost was about €40,000 and I am including the phone system, the server, the structured cabling, re-wiring of the building, the desktop computers, the desks, carpets etc. in that figure. So my fit-out cost was around €28.50 per square foot. I have to admit, it would be cheap and nasty as an office for a senior public servant. I would have no objection at all to the Regulator spending double what I have spent.
Another way to look at this figure: many people building their own house would ( these days) build a house of about €2,200 square feet. I think this would be average for a self-build. They would have a total construction budget of circa €250,000 and they would usually go over budget, getting a top up loan of circa €50,000 to finish the house ( that is the norm in my experience and I do a lot of this type of work). So a fully finished house is coming in with a total cost (Site clearance, construction, planning levies AND fit-out) of circa €136 per square foot. And people these days are putting a fairly high level of finish into their houses.
Bottom line - the costs being cited seem at face value to be unacceptably high. It may be that the building is being leased as a shell and that the fit-out includes a lot of 'second fix' type work. But I think the figures demand justification. I won't hold my breath..................
