A steep increase in the prices of raw materials has shot up the construction cost in Tiruchi.
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According to industry sources, most of the construction materials, including cement, electric cables, steel, PVC pipes, M-sand and P-sand, have gone up by 20%. The prices have been increased with the ease of second lockdown measures in July and August.
Due to the closure of most of the sand quarries, the construction industry in Tiruchi mainly depends upon the manufactured sand (M-sand) and plastering sand (P-Sand) from Karur. Until the imposition of the second lockdown, the M-sand suppliers charged ₹14,000 a load (four units). The rate of P-sand was ₹16,000 a load. It has gone up by ₹2,000 a load.
Similarly, depending upon the brands, the rates of PVC pipes and electric cables went up by 15% to 20%. A bag of cement, which was sold between ₹370 and ₹390 before the lockdown, has shot up to ₹430 to ₹470.
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Besides the increase in the cost of raw materials, it is said that constant rise in fuel prices was the main reason for the increase in the cost of construction materials. The suppliers and transporters have passed on the additional fuel cost on the construction materials.
“If the upward revision is in the range of 3% to 5%, we can manage the situation. But most of the construction materials have gone up by 15% to 20%. It is really posing challenges to builders, promoters and individual home constructors,” says P. Ravichandran, a flat promoter in Tiruchi.
It has also hit the contractors who have undertaken government projects such as bridges, culverts and buildings. S. Selvakumar, a contractor in Srirangam, said that the steep price rise had affected stakeholders like him. Many had been facing problems in completing the projects within the stipulated estimate.
The high prices have had an impact on the overall cost of flats. The average construction cost said to have gone up by ₹300 to ₹400 per square feet. The builders have correspondingly increased the cost of flats too.