Rising prices for building materials are not the only problem facing construction companies. Due to the current energy situation and the conflict in Ukraine, some commodities such as steel or wood are scarce in the market. This follows from a survey among construction companies. According to today’s data from the Czech Statistical Office (CSO), materials and products consumed in construction rose by 25.2 percent year on year.
“Generally speaking, it makes everything more expensive,” said Vojtěch Kostiha, a spokesman for the Metrostav Group. For example, polystyrene has risen in price by more than 200 percent since last January, and more than 100% price increases are no exception. “Curry networks are significantly affected in the current situation and I estimate that their price will continue to rise and availability will be low. The same is true for cylindrical sheets, cylindrical profiles and pipes, “Kostiha calculated.
They are affected by the persisting effects on prices covid pandemicwhich disrupted supply and demand chains, and rising energy and fuel prices. Uncertainty in the market increases demand, stocks are bought and traders do not even offer some materials. This is not only about the price of building materials, but also about their availability, “said Ondřej Šuch, a spokesman for Skanska CS.
The shortage is exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, where many materials are imported. Asphalt, wood are missing and the critical situation is for structural steel. “There is a huge shortage on the market and it is completely missing in many places. Without it, the foundations of the construction cannot be laid, if the company does not find it, it cannot build it, “said Evžen Korec, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Ekospol.
Evžen Korec from Ekospol: The building plots have run out, but we have enough of them
The owner of Ekospol Evžen Korec is one of Prague’s largest apartment builders. In the last two years, however, it has given fewer new flats to the market than its competitors. However, Korec, whose company will celebrate 30 years of existence this year, does not intend to step down from its positions. “You can’t judge a developer by how many flats he puts on the market in one year,” says one of the richest Czechs. He has big plans for the coming years. And most importantly, he owns a huge number of building plots in Prague.
Ferrum, a specialist in metallurgical materials, said in April that war in Ukraine paralyzed the supply of some grades of steel. Among other things, corrosion-resistant, used in construction. “And the minimum of structural steel that is now on the market is being sold at four times the price last year,” Kostiha said.
“Masonry elements become less expensive. Aerated concrete is made of natural materials, it is produced in the Czech Republic, so the lack of raw materials or dysfunctional shipping to Europe does not affect it so much. However, the rising prices of raw materials, fuels, energy and the higher cost of labor are also affecting us, “said Peter Markovič, General Manager of Xella for the Czech Republic and Slovakia, whose company produces Ytong.
The desire to build in the Czech Republic is, so are the finances. But the projects are stifled by legislation, says the architect
The Brno architectural studio Chybík + Kristof was established 12 years ago. He has a number of realizations and also prestigious awards. For example, they won a bronze medal for architecture for the project of the Czech pavilion at the EXPO in Milan. And this realization, as well as the design of the wooden headquarters of the state enterprise Lesy České republiky (LČR), with which they won an international competition, is considered by one of the studio’s founders, Ondřej Chybík, to be a turning point. His 50-member team is now involved, for example, in the design of the Ostrava skyscraper, and also competes in the Prague Philharmonic on Vltavská. Chybík calls not only for a change in legislation, but also for Czech society to listen more to the opinion of architects.
Started constructions will probably not endanger the current price and the lack of building materials. “Because companies already have the material for them,” Korec said. The planned projects, the construction of which has not yet begun, may have a problem.
“It can be assumed that the launch of some due to missing material may be delayed,” he estimated. “Complications are and will be not only in the accessibility itself, but also in the time sequence on the construction sites,” Markovič added.
Lukáš Kovanda: Wood is a security, even though it is the most expensive in more than ten years
In the first quarter of this year, the price of firewood from conifers was 831 crowns per cubic meter. This represents an increase of more than 66 percent compared to last year’s average of 499 crowns. The price of firewood in this year’s first quarter will exceed average prices over the past eleven years. And it will continue to grow.
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