Construction companies, raw material producers to meet every three months

Construction companies and raw material producers will meet every three months to maintain stability in the construction sector, reports BSS.

Due to the hike in the prices of scrap and chemicals, the main raw materials of steel, container and ship fares have also risen in the last two years.

As a result, the production cost of rod has also gone up, having adverse impact on the country’s construction sector.

Due to the increase in expenditure, the country’s construction companies are struggling to implement development projects within the estimated budget.

In this context, Bangladesh Steel Manufacturers Association (BSMA) and Bangladesh Association of Construction Industry (BACI) held a meeting at the FBCCI office recently, said a press release on Saturday.

BSMA leaders informed that the price of rod produced in the country has logically increased due to increase in the price of raw materials in the global market.

At present, Scrap costs 79 per cent additional expense, resulting in overall production costs to increase by 52 per cent. In contrast, the selling price has increased by only 37 per cent.

Currently, the selling price of per metric ton rod is Taka 78,000 while the same in West Bengal, India, costs Taka 86,000, the BSMA leaders added.

At the meeting, the steel producers said that if the construction companies were allowed to import rods, the domestic industry would suffer and a large number of people would lose their jobs.

In such a situation, BSMA demanded reduction of all existing duties and taxes on scrap and sponge iron imports for local manufacturers.

At the meeting, BACI leaders said that the government procurement rules-PPR and circular issued by the CPTU allow price adjustment in government projects.

But most of the government-funded projects did not include price adjustment clauses in their contracts. The Bangladesh Association of Construction Industries (BACI) has called for price escalation of government projects considering the rise in prices of raw materials.

Chairing the meeting, The FBCCI president Md Jashim Uddin called for resolving the problems in the construction sector through mutual cooperation and dialogue.

Responding to his call, the meeting decided that the entrepreneurs of the two sectors would sit in discussion every three months.

Mir Nasir Hossain, former president of FBCCI, joined the meeting online. FBCCI senior vice president Mostofa Azad Chowdhury Babu, director Ghulam Mohammed Alomgir, secretary general Mohammad Mahfuzul Hoque, BSMA president Manwar Hossain and BACI president Shafiqul Haque Talukder were present among others.