One of the first major decisions every client faces when building in Pakistan is choosing between a grey structure contract and a full turnkey contract. Both are common, both can produce excellent results, and both come with very different demands on your time, budget, and involvement. Here’s how to decide which is right for your project.
What Is a Grey Structure Contract?
A grey structure contract covers everything from excavation and foundation to the finished structural shell — columns, beams, slabs, roof, and brick masonry — but stops before finishing work like flooring, electrical wiring, plumbing fixtures, paint, kitchen cabinetry, and bathroom fittings. Once the grey structure is handed over, the client either manages finishing themselves or hires separate contractors and vendors for each trade.
Advantages of Grey Structure Contracts
- Lower upfront contractor markup — you pay the contractor for structural work only
- Full control over finishing material brands, tile selection, fixtures, and design details
- Ability to phase your spending — finish rooms one at a time as budget allows
Trade-offs
- You become the project manager for finishing — coordinating electricians, plumbers, tile-layers, and painters yourself
- Higher risk of inconsistent quality if finishing trades aren’t properly supervised
- Typically takes longer overall since finishing often happens in stages as funds become available
What Is a Full Turnkey Contract?
A turnkey contract means one construction company — from architectural planning through to final handover with fittings, paint, and even sometimes furnishing — is responsible for the entire project. You hand over a design brief and budget, and receive a move-in-ready home or commercial building.
Advantages of Turnkey Contracts
- Single point of accountability — no coordinating between multiple contractors and vendors
- Generally faster completion since structural and finishing trades are scheduled together
- Fixed, all-inclusive pricing agreed upfront, reducing surprise costs
- The contractor’s warranty typically covers the entire building, not just the structure
Trade-offs
- Higher total contract value since it includes the contractor’s overhead across every trade
- Less granular control over every finishing decision unless you specify materials in detail upfront
- Requires trusting one company with the full budget, making contractor selection critical
Which Should You Choose?
As a general guide:
- Choose grey structure if you have design experience, time to actively manage vendors, and want to control costs by phasing finishing work over months or years.
- Choose turnkey if you value speed and predictability, are building while living elsewhere or managing the project remotely, or simply don’t have the bandwidth to coordinate multiple trades yourself.
At Mughal Builders, we offer both models, and we’re upfront with every client about which approach best fits their situation — because the right choice depends far more on your available time and risk tolerance than it does on budget alone. Talk to our team about which approach makes sense for your project.