Abu Dhabi construction labour costs fall 9.6%

Abu Dhabi:According to the latest statistics issued by Statistics Centre — Abu Dhabi (SCAD), concrete prices dropped 11.4 per cent and steel prices rose 11.6 per cent in April in Abu Dhabi, compared to the prices in March.

According to SCAD's monthly report for April on the price index of building materials in Abu Dhabi, concrete prices dropped 11.4 per cent, while steel prices rose by 11.6 per cent compared to the prices of March.

April also saw the sub-index for cement prices retreat by 0.8 per cent from 88.7 in March to 88.0 in April.

There was also a decline in the average cost of construction labour, which fell 9.6 per cent.

SCAD's monthly report on the price index of building materials in Abu Dhabi showed that overall, the building materials price index edged up by a tiny 0.4 percentage point from 102.3 points in March to April.

The proportion of this increase is the monthly inflation rate for 2010, with an index of prices of building materials at 102.7 points.

The rise represents the net change resulting from upward and downward movements in the prices of building materials and services during the two months.

The SCADS report uses a basket of 195 items representing all basic building materials used in construction activity, categorized into 21 commodity and service groups.

A breakdown of the index movement shows that the sub-index for cement eased 0.8 per cent to 88.0 points in April, down from 88.7 points in March.

The drop in cement prices reflects the decline in the price of sulphate resistant cement and standard Portland cement, and normal, explaining the growing supply of domestically produced as well as imported varieties of cement.