The construction sector in Uganda has documented an increase in the prices of goods in the year ending December 2017 compared to December 2016; this is according to a report released by The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) recently.
The report revealed that in the period between December 2016 and December 2017 consumers had to pay a 0.6% increase for any construction inputs such as concrete products, steel bars, diesel among other things.
According to one of the contractors, Mr. Micheal Muhumuza, the Director of Kingstone Engineering and Construction Consultants Limited, prices of materials have been escalating at a fast rate. In 2016, the general increase in all construction materials was due to the exports to countries such as South Sudan. Last year, it was not safe and most people retreated from those markets.
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Furthermore, the slow-paced increase in the yearly prices in Uganda is blamed on rising input prices for residential buildings and civil works such as different and many road projects in the country and also water projects. The report further revealed civil works as the main cause of increase in prices from 0.6% in December 2016 to 3.1% in December 2017.
Residential buildings
Residential buildings also recorded a 0.6% in December 2017 while prices of inputs for non-residential buildings continued to plunge at 0.8 in December 2017 after falling to 0.9% in December 2016. For instance, from the report, prices of steel bar pipes increased by 16.6% as concrete product prices grew by 12.4% due to steel and operational overheads.
Mr Oliver Lalani, the Managing Director of Roofings Group pointed out that China is also to blame for some of the changes experienced and manufacturers are passing on the high prices of imported raw materials to their customers.
About The Uganda Bureau of Statistics
The Uganda Bureau of Statistics, formerly known as the Statistics Department is the principal data collecting, processing, analyzing and disseminating agency responsible for coordinating and supervising the National Statistical System.
