China’s megacities remain some of the world’s least expensive cities to build in though costs may increase

HONG KONG–(BUSINESS WIRE)–China’s megacities are some of the cheapest cities in the world to build
in, according to the International Construction Costs 2019 report
from Arcadis, the leading global Design & Consultancy firm for natural
and built assets. The report ranks the relative cost of construction in
100 major cities.

Chinese metropolis’ rank at the tail-end of the Index: Beijing ranked 88^th,
Shanghai 90^th, Chengdu 93^rd, Guangzhou/Shenzhen 94^th
and Wuhan 95^th. Hong Kong was ranked 3^rd globally.

While the US-China trade war is having a mild impact on China’s economy,
the central government has approved over US$160 billion in
infrastructure works to stimulate economic growth. They are also
bolstering domestic consumption through tax cuts and offering cheaper
finance to businesses.

Digitization is essential for sustainable growth in China. While BIM
applications and cloud technology are increasingly popular, usage lags
behind the US and Europe.

Kenn Ng, China North – Operations Director & Head of Quantity
Surveying, commented: “We applaud the Chinese government’s promotion
of prefabricated construction targeting 50% of new-built projects by
2025. This will improve efficiency, safety and sustainability. We
further encourage the government to increase the use of technology in
public sector construction projects.”

Ricky Ho, Deputy General Manager (Shenzhen), commented: “In
2018, China’s GDP increased by 6.7%, the lowest figure since 2009.
Higher interest rates and hikes in material and labor costs will likely
lead to a rise in construction costs over 2019. We expect wages to grow
3%-5%. The government is unlikely to loosen policies on housing
purchases, mortgages or loans. This plus a cooling off in the real
estate market will likely negatively impact the construction industry,
which we expect to grow by 5.9% in 2019.”

The report can be downloaded here.

Arcadis

Arcadis is the leading gloal Design & Consultancy for natural and built
assets. Applying our deep market sector insights and collective design,
consultancy, engineering, project and management services we work in
partnership with our clients to deliver exceptional and sustainable
outcomes throughout the lifecycle of their natural and built assets. We
are 27,000 people, active in over 70 countries that generate €3.3
billion in revenues. We support UN-Habitat with knowledge and expertise
to improve the quality of life in rapidly growing cities around the
world.

Contacts

Rebecca Marshall
Communications Manager
[email protected]

Carrie Wan
Senior Account Executive
[email protected]