The commercial cost to the contracting industry during the tendering phase is another concern especially with the more progressive models and all agree that the PPP model is very expensive and that tendering costs are very high. There are so many combinations and quantifying the large number of variables is virtually impossible to isolate the components that influence costs directly and fully objectively as stated in Hughes e. a. (2006). Furthermore, Hughes e. a. (2006) states that "the most important factors that influence whether firms adopt different working practices are not associated with the commercial costs of tendering or of winning tenders". This is a very important finding as costs for tendering do in fact increase when using newer forms such as Design-Build, Design-Build-Operate-Maintain (DBOM), and PPP practices, but they are not the driving forces or most important factors in the overall out-come of the project. Some of the contractor's viewpoint during the interviews stated that the tendering costs are extensively higher when using progressive procurement methods. Table 11 via Hughes e. a. (2006) shows the relative influence of commercial costs versus the procurement route chosen.
| MODEL | MARKETING COSTS | AGREEMENT COSTS | MANAGEMENT COSTS | DISPUTE COSTS |
| Very Low | Low | Medium | Low | |
| Medium | Medium | Very Low | Very Low | |
| CM(1) | Very Low | Low | Medium | Low |
| DBOM(2) | Medium | Medium | Medium | Very Low |
| High | Very High | Very Low | Low | |
| Alliance(3) | Very Low | Medium | Medium | Extremely Low |
Source Hughes e.a. (2006)
Table 11 Relative Commercial Costs to Contractor
1). Estimated & added - assumed to be similar to DBB (by Pakkala)
2). Estimated & added - assumed to be similar to DB (by Pakkala)
3). Estimated & added - assumptions based upon drivers & benefits (by Pakkala)