Turnkey vs Grey Structure: Which Is Right for Your Build?

Every client eventually faces the same fork in the road: stop at grey structure, or hand over the whole project turnkey. Neither answer is universally right — it depends on how much time, network and control you want to carry.

Grey structure: control, and the work that comes with it

With grey structure, your contractor delivers the building up to the roof slab. You then take over: hiring a finishing contractor, buying tiles and sanitaryware, coordinating electricians and carpenters, and chasing every delivery.

You keep control of every material decision. That is the real argument for this route. If you enjoy sourcing finishes, already have a trusted finishing team, and can visit the site two or three times a week, grey structure often costs less in cash.

The hidden cost is your time. Clients who estimate “six more months and one contractor” typically underestimate the coordination. Every interface — slab to plaster, plumbing to tiling, wiring to false ceiling — becomes your problem when something does not line up.

Turnkey: one price, one accountable team

Turnkey means the contractor carries the project from excavation to keys: finishes, kitchens, woodwork, fittings, testing and handover documentation under a single contract.

The advantage is not just convenience. Interfaces are where budgets die. When the same team owns structure and finishing, a slab poured 20mm low is corrected by that team — not argued about between two parties who each claim the other is responsible.

Turnkey also fixes your specification in writing before work starts. You know the tile brand, the tap model and the woodwork grade before the first brick is laid.

What the numbers look like

On identical specifications:

• Grey structure: approximately PKR 2,850–3,250 per sq. ft.
• Turnkey: approximately PKR 4,000–4,700 per sq. ft.

The turnkey premium is not pure profit for anyone — it is finishing work you would be paying for anyway, bundled into one contract with one margin instead of three.

A simple decision test

Choose grey structure if you have a reliable finishing team, time to supervise weekly, and strong opinions about every material.

Choose turnkey if you are building from a distance, running a business, or simply want one company that answers when something is wrong two years later.

Whichever route you take, insist on an itemised BOQ before signing. The contract is only as honest as the document behind it.