Construction costs up 7.1pc on expensive raw materials

Construction costs shot up by 7.1 per cent last year owing to a sharp rise in the prices of key inputs such as cement, steel, bitumen, and fuel, which slowed down the steep growth the sector enjoyed in 2021.

Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows the Construction Cost Index, which tracks the cost of construction inputs, rose to 113.65 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022 up from 106.12 per cent in the final quarter of 2021.

It is the fastest annual growth in construction costs since KNBS rebased the index in 2019. In 2020, the cost of construction increased by 2.59 per cent amid supply hitches due to Covid-19 restrictions that shut down global supply chains.