The continuous and sharp rise in prices of cement and steel has caused concern among the real estate developers and those constructing individual houses in the city.
The real estate developers who are resuming construction activity after lockdown say that the steel prices have gone up by at least 30% and cement prices have gone up by around 20% in the last couple of months.
Ramakrishna Rao, president, CREDAI Hyderabad said, “The price has been rising since the last two months and it has now gone up very steeply. Cement price has also gone up and it keeps fluctuating. They have a habit of stopping all dispatch at the start of the month or during month-end for 10 days or so to create an artificial shortage.”
The developers said that in January 2020, cement price of a 50 kg bag, which was around Rs 350, has increased to Rs 430 to Rs 450 per bag. Also, they claimed that the per tonne rate of steel, which was around Rs 40,000 has now crossed Rs 55,000. “The modus operandi of the cement industry is that they first increase the price by Rs 35 or Rs 40 and then reduce it by Rs 10. Both steel and cement industries are playing havoc with the industry and it is certainly going to reflect on the sale price of houses,” said Rao.
The body also sought the state’s intervention in regulating prices. Ashwin Rao, director of Manbhum Constructions, said, “Increase of price by almost 30% is a big hit for developers because the selling price is still the same. Many developers are being forced to halt construction work which is in turn impacting the delivery of the projects.”