SL India cheapest to build

13 September 2011 10:00 am

India and Sri Lanka were named the cheapest places to build both in Asia and the wider world as a whole, according to the 2011 International Construction Cost Report released by built asset consultancy, EC Harris.

Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore are the most expensive places in Asia to build and are amongst the world’s top twenty most expensive countries.

According to the survey, which benchmarks the cost of building in each country, the construction prices in Asian countries have risen more than Western countries in the past twelve months resulting in higher overall rankings for the Asian locations.

Tim Robinson, head of cost and Commercial Management in Asia at EC Harris, said, “We’ve seen construction prices in Hong Kong continue to rise due to the shortage of skilled labour, increased demand on commodities and increased construction output volume in the public and private markets. Some construction trades have seen their daily wages increase by 10 percent. The work performed in the public sector increased by 67 percent in 2010 and key construction commodity prices have continued to rise. These upward trends in construction costs are expected to continue over the next few years and will consequently affect construction prices in the near future.”

South Korea and Macau completed the top five most expensive countries across the region whilst China finished in seventh position and in 47th place overall.