wages in real terms and relatively stable prices of building
materials such as cement and steel bars, the increase in
building and construction (including civil engineering) costs
(5). was moderate
The Labour and Materials Cost Index rose
by 9% in the second quarter compared with the same quarter a
year earlier. The Tender Price Indices for public building and for public housing estate projects, presumably affected by variations in profit margins, actually declined by 6% and 13% respectively in the same period.
Land
5.9
In the third quarter the Government sold, at Crown land auctions and by tenders (including Letter A/B tenders), a
total of 108 280 square metres of land, comprising 7 628
square metres for industrial use and 100 652 square metres for
non-industrial use. Taking the first nine months as a whole,
there was a
reduction of 15% in the total area of land sold
compared with the same period last year. Given that the
Government has maintained a continuing land sales programme,
this reduction was largely due to a slower take-up rate So far
this year.
Electricity and gas
5.10
At 3 837 million
kilowatt
hours, electricity
was 9% more than that in the
amount of electricity consumed by
consumption in the third quarter
same period of 1981. The
/ domestic
(5) It is not appropriate to use the Labour and Materials Cost Index and the Tender Price Index, both of which refer to building projects exclusively, as reliable indicators of building and construction (including civil engineering) costs in general. Work is, therefore, being undertaken to construct a separate price/cost index for highways and, if possible, to construct indexes for other civil engineering projects.
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