Soaring raw material prices may cause Singapore developers to delay projects

PROPERTY developers may be looking to defer their less urgent projects as the prices of some raw materials such as steel and aluminium have become more volatile since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began.

In response to queries from The Business Times, the Singapore Contractors Association Ltd (Scal) noted that the price of steel rebar has risen by 18 per cent to S$1,300 per tonne since the conflict began in February. The current price of steel rebar is also twice what it used to be before the pandemic began.

"Other building material prices have also escalated by an average of 10 per cent due to the soaring energy prices affecting production as well as logistical and transportation costs," a Scal spokesperson said, noting that prices of aluminium and concrete have also risen by more than 100 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively.