The verdict in three sentences
For a civil engineering contractor in Dubai, the website matters less for attracting walk-in clients than for reassuring a project owner or consultant who checks your capability before opening your bid. What counts is 20 project sheets with figures (kilometres of road, contract value, client, schedule met), a downloadable PDF company profile and verifiable evidence of people and equipment. Local agencies quote 20,000 to 60,000 AED; on the Kolonell Growth tier the site costs 1,200,000 to 2,000,000 FCFA (1,830 to 3,050 EUR), is delivered in 4 weeks and maintained for 35,000 FCFA a month (50 EUR).
The evidence a project owner looks for
A procurement officer at a government entity, a master developer or a consultant reviewing prequalification often visits a bidder's website to check what the submission claims. They look for consistency and numbers.
| Expected evidence | Format on the site | Effect on evaluation |
|---|---|---|
| Similar project references | One sheet per project: scope, location, value, client, year, duration | Confirms the experience required in the tender |
| Physical quantities | Kilometres of road, linear metres of utilities, cubic metres | Lets evaluators compare with the package |
| Completion certificates | Listed with dates, documents on request | Backs up the stated values |
| Plant and equipment | Table: graders, rollers, trucks, asphalt plant | Proves ability to mobilise fast |
| Key personnel | Engineers, site managers, years of experience | Matches the CVs in the technical bid |
| Contractor classification | Dubai Municipality grade and licence number | Instant eligibility check |
| Health, safety and environment | HSE policy, LTIFR, ISO 45001 and 14001 | Increasingly weighted by clients |
| PDF company profile | File under 3 MB, updated every six months | Easy attachment for bids |
Published values must match the completion certificates exactly. A gap of a few hundred thousand dirhams between the site and the bid is enough to raise doubts with an evaluator.
Site budget and scope
| Item | Content | 2026 cost or effort |
|---|---|---|
| Local Dubai agency, 15 to 25 pages | Same scope, often with stock imagery | 20,000 to 60,000 AED (market estimate) |
| Kolonell Growth site, 15 to 25 pages | Home, capabilities, projects, equipment, team, HSE, contact | 1,200,000 to 2,000,000 FCFA (1,830 to 3,050 EUR) |
| 20 project sheets | Before and after photos, figures, client, location map | Included if data is supplied |
| Reference filter | By asset type, emirate, client, value | Included |
| PDF profile | Generated from the sheets, downloadable | Included, updated by your team |
| Arabic version of key pages | For government clients | Option priced by volume |
| Basic maintenance | Updates, backups, monitoring | 35,000 FCFA a month (50 EUR) |
| Timeline | Scoping, collection, mock-ups, build, launch | 4 weeks |
Collecting project data is the real work. Plan for one person from the technical office for 3 to 4 days to gather values, dates, photos and certificates. Site photos are compressed to WebP so each sheet stays around 400 KB and loads quickly on a phone at the site office.
For government tenders, keep in mind the requirements published on the Dubai government procurement portal and by each project owner: the website never replaces the administrative documents, it confirms them.
Mini case study
Rashid, technical director of a 300-employee civil works contractor in Dubai (illustrative example), answers 30 tenders a year. Preparing the references section takes him 6 hours per bid, because the information is spread across several files.
With 20 structured project sheets and a PDF profile generated from the site, he gets down to 2 hours per bid. He saves 4 hours on 30 bids, or 120 hours a year, about three weeks of an engineer's time. For a site at 1,600,000 FCFA (about 2,440 EUR) and 600 EUR of annual maintenance, first-year cost is around 3,040 EUR, or roughly 100 EUR per bid prepared.
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FAQ
Can we publish contract values?
Yes for awarded public contracts, whose values are often published. For private clients, ask for consent or show a band, for example 10 to 25 million AED.
How many references do we need at minimum?
Aim for 15 to 20 sheets covering the last 5 years. Prequalification often requires 2 to 3 similar projects in that period, with values comparable to the package.
Do we need an Arabic version?
If you target government entities, yes for the 5 to 8 key pages. The rest can stay in English.
How long until the site is live?
Allow 4 weeks if data for the 20 projects is gathered in week 1. Without that collection, projects commonly slip to 8 weeks.
What does maintenance at 35,000 FCFA a month cover?
Security updates, backups and uptime monitoring. Your team adds new project sheets in the CMS in about 20 minutes.
Let's scope your project. Send us the list of your 20 reference projects: we will price a tender-ready site on the Kolonell Growth tier, 1,200,000 to 2,000,000 FCFA (1,830 to 3,050 EUR), delivered in 4 weeks. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
