REGISTRATION OF CONTRACTORS ETHIOPIA

 REGISTRATION OF CONTRACTORS
14 Licensing
Application for registration as a contractor in accordance with these Directive may
be submitted in one of the following categories.
1) Categories
a) "GC" General Contractors ... Contractors who are qualified to undertake a
variety of construction work such as building, roads railways bridges, airports,
dams, water works… etc.
b) "BC" Building contractors ... Contractors who are qualified to undertake building
construction and supplementary works to buildings.
c) "RC" Road Contractors ... Contractors who are qualified to undertake
construction of roads and other related Civil Engineering works.
d) If portion of the project work that requires specialization exceeds 15 per cent of the
total project cost, that part is to be subcontracted out to the appropriate specialized
contractor.
e) "SC" Specialized Contractors ... These are contractors who are qualified to
undertake construction activities in specialized fields as classified under the
following sub-categories.
Painting and Decorations (SC-PD)
Contractors who are qualified to undertake specialized works such as painting,
wall papering, curtain works, ceiling and wall decorations, neon and other forms of
advertising etc.
Sanitary Installation (SC-SI)
Contractors who are qualified to undertake sanitary installation works such as
interior plumbing, installation of water tanks, installation of water pumps, fixing of
sanitary wares and other related activities.
Wood and Metal Works (SC-WM)
Contractors who are qualified to undertake wood and metal works such as:
1) Fabrication and Installation of wooden doors, windows, built-in cupboards,
shelves wooden partition walls, glassing works, etc...
2) Fabrication and installation of metal doors, windows, steel trusses, form
works, water, tanks etc...
f) Landscaping (SC-LS)
Contractors who are qualified to undertake Landscaping and other related
activities:
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2) For applicants whose areas of involvement does not fall in one of the understated
sub-categories, their application may be considered as it comes and the Department
prepares proposal for grades and requirements of the grades by using the
participation of the relevant association/s and professionals. The proposal is to be
approved by the minister before implementation.
15 Contractor Grades and project size
1) Contractors of categories "GC", "BC" and "RC" assume grades that ranges from 1
down to 10. Contractors may register in one of the 1 to 10 grades categorized based on
equipment, man power and turnover requirement;
2) Contractors of category "SC" assume grades that ranges from 1 down to 6 based on the
cost of construction or installation of the specialized trades;
3) The threshold project size for the different categories and grades of contractors and
specialized contractors shall be as follows:
a) Contractors of categories GC, BC, and RC may register as shown in table 2:
Table :- 2 Grades for BC, RC and GC
Categories Grade
Construction Cost (Birr)
BC RC GC
(GC,BC,RC) 1 Above 210,000,000 Above 300,000,000 Above 350,000,000
(GC,BC,RC) 2 Up to 210,000,000 Up to 300,000,000 Up to 350,000,000
(GC,BC,RC) 3 Up to 160,000,000 Up to 225,000,000 Up to 270,000,000
(GC,BC,RC) 4 Up to 110,000,000 Up to 154,000,000 Up to 185,000,000
(GC,BC,RC) 5 Up to 54,000,000 Up to 76,000,000 Up to 100,000,000
(GC,BC,RC) 6 Up to 27,000,000 Up to 38,000,000 Up to 45,000,000
(GC,BC,RC) 7 Up to 11,000,000 Up to 15,000,000 Up to 18,000,000
(GC,BC,RC) 8 Up to 5,400,000 Up to 7,500,000 Up to 9,000,000
(GC,BC,RC) 9 Up to 3,000,000 Up to 4,200,000 Up to 5,000,000
(GC,BC,RC) 10 Up to 1,000,000 Up to 1, 500,000 Up to 1,800,000
b) Contractors of Category “SC" may register in one of the grades shown in Table 3.
Table 3. Grades for Specialized Contractors
Category Rank Construction cost
SC 1 Above 100,000,000
SC 2 Up to Birr 45,000,00000
SC 3 Up to Birr 18,000,000
SC 4 Up to Birr 9,000,000
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c) Exceptions
Civil Servants and Other Employed Professionals
a) Construction superintendents with Special
Training in engineering works and Equivalent …… 18 Years of service
b) Engineering Aides or Equivalent …………......... 15 Years of service
c) Associate Engineers or Equivalent ……............... 12 Years of service
d) Professional engineers and Architects .................. 10 Years of service
...............................................................................
e) Practicing Professionals with 15 years and above experience in special works
in specialized fields (such as highway, power, railway, irrigation, etc).
f) Professionals stated in E above organized in a team of minimum three (with
harmonized specialization), with sufficient experience in construction
works, with proper release from their employers (both Government and
private) and who wish to be contractors, may initially get certificates of
competence for the following grades/classes without manpower, and
equipment requirements. For female professionals, the experience
requirement is lowered by two years.
 A and B in Grade VII in one of the categories for which they are
qualified;
 C and D in Grade VI in their area of specialization;
 E in grade V of their area of specialization;
 F in grade IV of their area of specialization
g) The testimony of experience from the private employers shall be confirmed
by the appropriate Association. Experience from Construction companies
shall be confirmed by Contractors Association; and experience from
consulting firms shall be confirmed by Consultants Association.
h) Once they are registered as contractors, they will have to provide sufficient
manpower and equipment for the project they undertake to successfully
complete the work in accordance with the terms of their contract. For
upgrading they will have to fulfill all requirements in these Directives
specified for the requested Grade.
16 Substitution rules for Qualification Requirement
Requirements for substitution rules for qualification requirements may alternatively be
considered using the substitution guide depicted in the following Table 4.
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Table 4. Equivalence between Professionals
1 PE VII
2 PE VI
3 PE V
4 PE IV AE VII
5 PE III AE VI
6 PE II AE V JAT VII
7 PE I AE IV JAT VI
8 GE III AE III JATV
9 GE II AE II JAT IV EA VI
10 GE I AE I JAT III EA V
11 GE GAE III JATII EA IV JEA VI
12 GAE II JAT I EA III JEA V
13 GAE I GJAT III EA II JEA IV
14 GAE GJAT II EA I JEA III
15 GJAT I GEA III JEA II
16 GJAT GEA II JEA I
17 GEA I GJEA III
18 GEA GJEA II
19 GJEA I
20 GJEA
Note. GE I, GE II, GE III shows the work Experience of the professional 1,2,&3 years
respectively the same applies for other professionals.
Example: PEII could be replaced by either AE V or JAT VII
Note:
PE Professional Engineer
GE Graduate Engineer
AE Associate Engineer
GAE Graduate Associate Engineer
JAT Junior Associate Technician
GJAT Graduate Junior Associate Technician
EA Engineering Aid
GEA Graduate Engineering Aid
JEA Junior Engineering Aid
GJEA Graduate Junior Engineering Aid
17 Professional, Equipment Requirement
1) An applicant for registration as a contractor under these Directives shall submit:
a) Professionals require for the category and grade/class he has
applied for;
b) Number, type and capacity of equipment.
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2) The minimum number of equipment required for General Contractors registered
in grades 1 to 6 is shown in SCHEDULE 2 of this Directive.
3) Equivalent Equipment could be replaced based on Table 5.
Table 5: Equipment (number or per cent) which could be replaced by Equivalent or
Higher Equipment
Equipment
Category
GC RC BC SC
I II III I II III I II III All
Heavy 5 3 2 3 2 1 1 - - 50 %
Intermediate 3 2 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 50 %
Light 3 2 2 3 2 1 1 1 - 50 %
4) Contractors of grade I up to III may temporarily be exempted from fulfilling
some heavy, intermediate or light equipment as per Tables 6,7&8 for a period of
two years from the date when they are registered by the Ministry for that grade.
5) All specialized contractors may replace 50 per cent of their equipment
requirement by similar sized equipment of similar nature as long as the total
capacity is matched.
Table 6: Temporary Exemption of Equipment Requirement for Contractors of
Grades I to III (GC) (except crane)
Grade
Number and Category of Equipment for Temporary
Exemption
heavy intermediate light
I 3 2 2
II 2 1 2
III 1 1 1
Table 7: Temporary Exemption of Equipment Requirement for Contractors of
Grades I to III (RC)
Grade
Number and Category of Equipment for Temporary
Exemption
heavy intermediate light
I 4 2 2
II 3 1 1
III 2 1 1
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Table 8: Temporary Exemption of Equipment Requirement for Contractors of
Grades I to III (BC) (except crane)
Grade
Number and Category of Equipment for Temporary
Exemption
heavy intermediate light
I 1 1 1
II 0 1 1
III - 1 -
6) The minimum number or equipment required for road contractors registered in
grades 1 to 5 is shown in SCHEDULE 3 of this Directive.
7) The minimum number of equipment required for building contractors registered
in grades 1 to 8 is shown is SCHEDULE 6 of this Directive.
8) The minimum number of equipment required for specialized contractors
registered under sub-categories /a/, /b/, /c/, /d/, and /e/ grades 1 to 6 are shown
in SCHEDULE 9 of this Directive.
18 Staff requirement
1) Contractors are to employ staff required for their category.
2) The employment is to be authenticated by the responsible institution.
3) During renewal of certificate of competence, the contractor is required to submit pay
roll of its employees considered to fulfill the certification requirements with salary tax
settlement documents.
19 Registration and Renewal Fees for Contractors
1) Registration and renewal fee for contractors
All categories of contractors pay registration and renewal fee as per Table 9
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Table 9: Registration and Renewal Fee for Contractors
GRADE
REGISTRATION &
UPGRADING (BIRR)
RENEWAL (BIRR)
1 5000.00 2500.00
2 4750.00 2375.00
3 4400.00 2200.00
4 3300.00 1650.00
5 2200.00 1100.00
6 1500.00 750.00
7 1200.00 600.00
8 1050.00 525.00
9 1000.00 500.00
10 500.00 250.00
2. Contractors applying for renewal within one year after the expiry date of their
certificate of registration may renew their certificate upon payment of the arrear plus
100 birr penalty for the period not renewed.
3. Any registration that is not renewed within three years of its expiry date shall be
deemed to be cancelled automatically.
20. Application form
An applicant shall fill MUDC form No1 related to equipment & man power for the
category he/she applied for
21. Miscellaneous
1. The number of pieces of equipment listed under each category and grade is minimum and is
only for registration purposes. It should be noted that every contractor has to provide the
actual number of pieces of equipment required for the individual project he undertakes.
2. Equipment having capacities other than shown in each schedule may be accepted. The
corresponding number of pieces of equipment may then be determined in relation to the
capacities unless differently assessed by the department.
There are many other equipment types which are important for construction but are not included in
the above schedules. A contractor may have more equipment from one type but may lack
equipment of other types.