Bekele, Teshome (PhD)Mengistu, Samuel2018-11-022023-11-042018-11-022023-11-042017-02http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/13672The construction sector in Ethiopia is one of the critical economic institutions in the economic development of the country. However, some firms, in this sector seem to fail quickly. And many have faced difficulty in winning tenders in bidding stage. Consequently this research has the objectives of analyzing tender cost estimation practice, identifying deficiencies requiring remedial actions and recommending solutions that can enhance the performance of local emerging construction firms. The population used was restricted to Addis Ababa based emerging construction firms. The population of 412 firms registered as Grade 5 and above, from the different category of contractors is studied. To address the research objective 135 samples are selected based on snowball sampling method and questionnaire is distributed from which 98 sample respondents replied appropriately to the questionnaire. The literature was reviewed on cost estimation and related aspects. The research tool used was a questionnaire. Data gathered are analyzed using statistical tools. As a result the study revealed that: cost estimation is one of the major causes that aggravate emerging contractors deprived success in tendering. Likewise with regard to leading practices related to quality cost estimates, the study found out that the performance of emerging contractors towards cost estimation requirements is low. Emerging firms are advised to make internal policy or guidelines for developing high quality cost estimates, to practice/ adopt a method that utilizes risk identification and uncertainty analysis techniques and to implement a system of integrated cost estimating practice via utilization of the twelve cost estimating tasks in order to ensure a high quality estimate. Keywords: Cost estimation, Quality estimates, estimation methods, tenderingenCost estimationQuality estimatesestimation methodstenderingThesis