In EC Harris's annual report had construction costs in 55 countries across the world. The price of construction in Switzerland is 71% higher than in the UK where costs are now more than 20% below their peak price in mid the year 2008. Overall, the UK is now tied with Bahrain as the 12th most expensive place in the world to build, up four places from 2010 where it finished in 16th place.
However, this has been largely due to falling costs in other countries rather than rising prices in the UK where construction costs have continued to drop over the last one year.
Denmark retained its position as the 2nd most expensive place to build, closely followed by its Scandinavian neighbour Sweden. Australia and Canada were the only non-European markets to make it into the top 10 although Bahrain just missed out, finishing in 12th place overall alongside the UK.
India and Sri Lanka were tied as the cheapest countries in which to build with construction costs estimated to be 72% cheaper than the UK baseline.
The report also says that the outlook for the UK construction sector will be tough over the next couple of years and the fall in construction tender prices, which started in 2008 is expected to continue well into 2012 for most of the country.
The EC Harris's annual report also underlines the need for Western economies to start planning ahead now to guarantee access to the raw materials needed for future construction projects. During the economic downturn global supply chains have shifted their focus to meeting the demands of economies like China and India and are likely to continue to prioritize them over the coming years as they offer the greatest revenue growth opportunities.
Average construction costs in the US are around 10% lower than in the UK.
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