A steel factory in Hai Duong province (Photo: VNA) Cao Van Hong,a contractor, told Thanh Nien newspaper that the cost of construction materialshad been rising for the last few months.
AssociateProfessor Ngo Tri Long, former rector of the Ministry of Finance's Price andMarket Research Institute, said prices were up by around 20 percentyear-on-year.
Steel, whichaccounts for 20 percent of the cost of a building, has increased by 40 percent.
Constructionsand is becoming scarce in the Mekong Delta, a major supplier, and buyerswanting large quantities have to wait for a month and often pay more than theoriginally quoted price.
Le Nhu ThuyMy, Director of the Nhan Quoc Ceramic Tiles Company in Dong Nai Province, saidthere had been a slight increase in ceramic tile prices due to a rise inpackaging costs and the rising electricity, petrol, coal, and transportationcosts.
The spike incosts is forcing contractors to increase prices or delay work to prevent losses.
Nguyen QuocHiep, Chairman of the Viet Nam Association of Construction Contractors, saidmany contractors signed fixed-price contracts and so took a hit when costsrise.
Constructionaccounts for nearly 10 percent of Vietnam’s GDP./.
VNA
