The construction desk·updated 19 Sept 2026

The construction desk.

Open tenders, who is buying, the documents that expire, the prices a rate sheet runs on, the registers, the law, the materials. Read from the portal, the gazette and the record every morning, and laid out here for the people who build, commission and supply.

75
tenders close in the next 7 days
295 open on the portal
4
dated deadlines ahead
12 documents on the clock
7
price indicators checked
on 18 Sept 2026
389
public buyers on record
since 2024/01

Closing this week

Gauteng and the panel's trades · 19 Sept 2026All 295 open →
ESKOMcloses Mon, 21 Sept, 10:00 · 2 days

Refurbishment and Delivery of Turbine Auxiliary Oil Pumps - Seal Oil Pumps, Seal oil Vacuum Pumps, Stator Coolant Pumps and Ammonia Dosing Pumps at Grootvlei Power Station for the period of 5 years

Plumbing, water and sanitation · Gauteng, Balfour · E2182GXMPGROR

Open on eTenders ↗
Johannesburg Watercloses Mon, 21 Sept, 10:30 · 2 days

Supply And Delivery of Bulk Water Flow Meter Spares, Accessories, And Related Instrumentation Components on an “As and When” Required Basis for A Period of Thirty- Six (36) Months

Plumbing, water and sanitation · Gauteng, JOHANNESBURG · JWOPS075/24

Open on eTenders ↗
Statistics South Africacloses Mon, 21 Sept, 11:00 · 2 days

Request for quotation to hire tables and chairs for Heritage Day.

Furniture and loose FF&E · Gauteng, Salvokop · RFQ-112740

Open on eTenders ↗
Water and Sanitationcloses Mon, 21 Sept, 11:00 · 2 days

Supply and Delivery of small Tools with some Local Content item to IBTC in Roodeplaat in the Gauteng Province.

Tools, plant and site consumables · Gauteng, Standerton · CTC 27 Small Tools

Open on eTenders ↗
Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC)closes Mon, 21 Sept, 11:00 · 2 days

INVITATION FOR OPEN TENDER TO PROCURE BUILDING MAINTENANCE CONSUMABLES, TOOLS & EQUIPMENT AS AND WHEN REQUIRED FOR 36 MONTHS TO SUPPLIER PARK DEVELOPMENT COMPANY SOC LTD T/A AIDC IN ROSSLYN, PRETORIA.

Tools, plant and site consumables · Gauteng, Pretoria · AIDC-T02-2026/27

Open on eTenders ↗

Dates that cost money

pinned to the noticeThe clock →
24 Oct 2026Plumbing CoC / PIRB

NCC comment closes on PIRB's application to be an accredited Consumer Protection Group: decides whether a PIRB registration carries a complaints route

31 Oct 2026COIDA letter of good standing

COIDA: outstanding 2025 and prior-year Returns of Earnings must be submitted, or the Commissioner may assess on estimate (s 83(6)(a)) and add up to 10% (s 83(6)(b))

31 Mar 2027Demand

National and provincial fiscal year end: departments spend furniture, tools and PPE budgets in January to March; the furniture programmes land here

30 Jun 2027Demand

Municipal financial year end: the June/July tender peak is the run-up to it

The numbers, checked

18 Sept 2026Prices →
Rand per US dollar16,24 ZAR/USD
Repo rate7,00 %
Prime lending rate10,50 %
Diesel 0.05% wholesale, Gauteng29,11 R/litre
Brent crude103,25 USD/bbl

The lanes

refreshed every morning
01TendersEvery open tender on the portal that buys a construction material or trade, read every morning, sorted by what closes next.295 open · 19 Sept 202602Who is buyingThe awards record: 389 public buyers and 306 winning suppliers across the months since 2024/01, by material family, with what each one bought and when.389 buyers · 19 Sept 202603Compliance clockThe documents a contractor or supplier must hold, each with its renewal, the dated deadlines the gazette has set, and the next thirty days of closings and briefings on the portal.16 rules, 4 dated · 18 Sept 202604PricesThe numbers a rate sheet depends on, each with its source and the day it was checked: the rand, the repo and prime rates, diesel, Brent, copper.7 indicators · 18 Sept 202605The registersOne page per register a South African contractor lives on: what it is, who must be on it, how to look someone up for free, what it does not tell you.8 registers06MaterialsTwelve material families from ground to energy: what each one is, how much public demand it saw, how many bidders it drew, and the compulsory specifications a product must carry.12 families · 19 Sept 202607Law and glossary95 terms a contractor meets in a contract, a tender or a site file, each with what it means and where it costs money.95 terms · 21 Sept 202608PropertyFor trustees, managing agents and estates: what the Act makes a body corporate maintain, who approves a quote, what to check before a contractor starts, and what this year's tariffs do to a levy.the client's guide

Who is buying

389 public buyers, by tenders publishedThe record →
ESKOM

Electrical · Tools, plant and site consumables · Plumbing, water and sanitation

608 tenders · 25 awardsR34,0 bn
Transnet SOC Ltd

Electrical · Plumbing, water and sanitation · Tools, plant and site consumables

199 tenders · 37 awardsR21,9 bn
Water and Sanitation

Ground and bulk · Concrete and cement · Plumbing, water and sanitation

174 tenders · 22 awardsR263,7 m
Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa

Tools, plant and site consumables · Electrical · Plumbing, water and sanitation

128 tenders · 37 awardsR6,3 bn
Johannesburg Water

Plumbing, water and sanitation · Tools, plant and site consumables · Electrical

112 tenders · 4 awardsR75,6 m

Written this week

Sourced, dated and signed by the Arabella team. Search the archive or pick a subject.

Getting paid on a South African construction contract
Cost & decisions

Getting paid on a South African construction contract

Five clauses decide it, the deposit, the certificate, the retention, the escalation provision and the remedy. Each has a date, and the money moves on those dates or not at all.

Read
What does cidb 6CE mean, and who asks for it
Compliance

What does cidb 6CE mean, and who asks for it

A grade and a class, read together. One live panel this week draws its line at 6CE, and the rest of the board draws it everywhere from grade 1 to grade 9.

Read
Maintenance contractors for bodies corporate
Property & facilities

Maintenance contractors for bodies corporate

The Act makes trustees maintain the common property. It does not say how to find the contractor, compare the quotes or check the registers first. This does.

Read
Buildings grew, construction works shrank
Cost & decisions

Buildings grew, construction works shrank

South Africa's economy contracted in the second quarter while construction grew, and the gap between buildings and works tells you which jobs to chase.

Read

The panel

Every register on this desk is checked before a panel contractor quotes. One quote from one company, 85% on award, 15% on completion.