The fuel price raised is one of the critical factors that has driven up prices by about 35%

The construction area, hit by the pandemic and related limitations, faces a second blow, with the price of materials seeing a steep hike as fuel price hike cascading effect. One estimate pegs the raise at about 35% over last year.

Essential inputs such as cement, sand, steel, plywood materials, stone aggregates and Sand have seen a price rise in the last year, pushing up the overall construction price. As a result, the construction of individual houses has grown expensive, with cost per square for a moderate structure moving up from a range of ₹1.5 lakh-₹1.75 lakh to ₹ two lakh-₹2.5 lakh, industry experts said.

Workers shortage

“Roughly, in the last one year, the price of construction has moved up by about 35%. This has been caused by rising diesel prices a shortage of labour”. It remarked that labour cost alone has grown by almost 25% after migrant labour left Bengaluru during the last lockdown, figuring that the situation had not progressed much since.

Laziness in the industry has slowed down the payments, choking several contractors.

Sand, Cement

Cement price jumped to ₹440-₹460 per bag from ₹350-₹400 per. The price of a lorry load of river sand has surpassed ₹1 lakh. The M Sand used for plastering has marked its cost increase from about ₹1,200-₹1,300 to ₹1,300-₹1,700 a tonne. Plywood cost has moved up by 20 %.

Similarly, the cost of solid concrete blocks, plumbing, bricks, and sanitary ware has also improved. However, besides paint that has only seen a little hike, others have observed a steep increase.

The market that was already stressed due to a downward trend in the economy, inflation in construction costs has hit business further. “Everybody is hoping costs will come down after unlocking now. But we have had some projects frequently postponed.”

Customers hit

This, indeed, is hitting customers. “Accounting for the obstacle in completion of the project, further interest paid on loans and rising construction price, the project evaluation has shot up.”