There's an interesting game theory problem here. If you stick the bidder with the cost of overruns, they will bid high -- and be overpaid if the risks don't eve

There's an interesting game theory problem here. If you stick the bidder with the cost of overruns, they will bid high -- and be overpaid if the risks don't eventuate. So, the consensus seems to be Governments would rather get low bids that don't price in unknowns. If unknowns happen, they can dicker over the increase. But if you award a contract that's too fat, it's difficult to claw back. If the work goes exactly to plan, the contract will come in on budget. But if problems occur, the price usually goes up. Our current system seems to be optimized for lower overall project cost at completion, with the side effect of making it less useful as a budgeting tool.