World’s Most Expensive Cities To Build In Revealed!

World’s Most Expensive Cities To Build In Revealed!

Arcadis’s latest International Construction Costs report has just been published and the results make for very interesting reading indeed, with New York, San Francisco and Hong Kong making up the top three in this regard.

It will probably come as little surprise to many in the construction industry that of the 12 cities in the UK and Ireland that featured in the report, London came top of the list – and is also the sixth most expensive city in the world for construction.

Regional cities appeared to represent better value for money than the capital, including Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Leeds. Belfast was ranked as the least expensive city in the UK in the index and is on its way to achieving its vision as a modern European city, with investment now being made in projects like the Belfast Transport Hub.

It appeared that last year was still a good year for the construction industry in the UK, despite all the furore surrounding Brexit, with GDP growing by 1.4 per cent. Forecasts suggest that the GDP will rise a further 1.4 per cent this year as well.

UK managing director for buildings at Arcadis Edel Christie said: “In 2019 and beyond, smart investment in three key areas is going to be crucial for future success. Technological innovation and digitization present an opportunity for construction companies to increase efficiency, lower costs and raise productivity, while simultaneously improving the end product for customers and communities alike.”

He went on to say that there must also be a stronger focus on how what we build can work for and meet the evolving needs of those who make use of the buildings.

And clients are now increasingly looking for sustainability and resiliency to be a feature of building design in order to combat the impact that construction has on the environment in terms of waste, carbon emissions and water and energy use.

As good news as this all is, there are now ten per cent more construction companies involved in building projects that are in significant financial distress, figures from Begbies Traynor show. A five per cent rise in those involved in the construction of commercial buildings experiencing the same has also been seen.

Executive chairman Ric Traynor explained that many businesses are now feeling that the uncertainty over Brexit has hindered business growth and investment.

And there have already been numerous big-name companies deciding to invest in other countries, which is having an impact on regional economies and also the supply chain for small to medium-sized enterprises.

It’s not all doom and gloom, however, and Mr Traynor went on to add that the UK does have strong economic foundations, the GDP is still growing and employment has now reached a record high of 32.7 million, which the government may be able to capitalise on to inspire confidence in both businesses and consumers.

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