The study of comparative construction costs across 100 cities ranks London second behind Geneva and ahead of Copenhagen, which is in third place. The five least expensive cities are found in Asia and India.
The latest International Construction Costs report published by Arcadis finds that, outside of London, UK cities did not record significant shifts in position. Six others are in the top 25: Bristol (15th), Manchester (17th), Birmingham (22nd), Liverpool (23rd), Edinburgh (24th) and Cardiff (25th).
Arcadis said that construction decreased by approximately 13% in the UK and it is forecast to recover to pre-Covid levels only in the beginning of 2022.
The 2021 Arcadis ICC Index covers 100 of the world鈥檚 large cities across six continents. The cost comparison was developed covering twenty building functions, based on a survey of construction costs, review of market conditions and the professional judgement from its global team of experts. The calculations are based in USD and indexed against the price range for each building type relative to Amsterdam. This year, coverage has been extended to cities including Oslo, Vienna, Nice, Memphis, Ho Chi Minh City, and Kiev. The devaluation of the US dollar is the main factor contributing to a fall in the ranking of US cities such as New York and San Francisco to sixth and seventh place, respectively.
In addition to providing a comparative index of global construction costs, this report also looks at construction around the world and the noteworthy changes and initiatives of the past year in numerous global markets amid the Covid-19 pandemic. As some governments prepare to launch various initiatives to boost their economies - including investment spending on infrastructure - Arcadis has highlighted the opportunity to create long term value from the right investments especially around sustainability. A five-point plan is presented in the report to help guide clients and their project teams to define and deliver their project requirements in the context of a broader assessment of value.
Nilesh Parmar, deputy chief executive 鈥� UK and Ireland, Arcadis, said:
鈥淭he UK construction sector managed the pandemic very well. Effective safety measures have enabled productivity levels to recover, and the construction sector has been singled out as a major contributor to the 鈥楤uild back better鈥� initiative in the UK.鈥� The residential market has been buoyant through the year, supported by Government intervention and global investment into mid-market build-to-rent.鈥疊y contrast, the focus for investment in public transport is likely to shift away from London to other UK cities in line with the Government鈥檚 post-Brexit 鈥榣evelling-up鈥� agenda.
鈥淭he last year has been focused on the global public health crisis but the challenge climate change brings is still very real. With construction contributing significantly toward carbon emissions it is crucial our industry increasingly embeds sustainability into its projects.鈥�
The 10 most expensive cities:
1. Geneva聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
2. London聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
3. Copenhagen聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
4. Oslo聽聽 聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
5. Zurich聽聽聽聽
6. New York City聽聽聽聽聽
7. San Francisco聽聽聽聽聽聽
8. Hong Kong
9. Dublin
10. Macau
The 10 least expensive cities:
100. Bengaluru聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
99. New Delhi聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
98. Mumbai聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
97. Kuala Lumpur聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
96. Ho Chi Minh聽聽
95. Wuhan聽聽聽聽
94. Chengdu
93. Nairobi
92. Johannesburg
91. Guangzhou
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