The costs in building construction rose faster than those in civil engineering last year.
In the past year 2020, construction prices continued to rise. Statistics Austria announced on Wednesday that there were price increases in all sectors, both in building construction and civil engineering. The costs in building construction increased more than in civil engineering. The combined construction price index for building construction and civil engineering averaged 112.5 points in 2020 and was thus 2.6 percent above the previous year.
Higher cost
The index for building construction rose by 3.1 percent to 115.8 points. The prices also went up for the two categories of housing and housing construction as well as other building construction.
At the end of the year, the cost of residential and residential construction increased by 3.2 percent (index at 115.6 points), other building construction was 3.1 percent more expensive (index: 116.1 points). Responsible for the price increases in building construction were in particular higher costs for concrete and reinforced concrete work, for professional building services such as gas and water installations, building plumber workers and for coatings on wood, metal, plaster and concrete.
In the civil engineering sector, prices rose less markedly by 1.8 percent; the index achieved an annual average of 108.2 points. In the individual divisions, the cost of road construction rose the most with a plus of 2.1 percent (index: 109.7 units). According to the statistics, the main price drivers were “bituminous base and surface courses” and noise protection structures.
Base and surface courses as drivers
In bridge construction, too, the price increases for “bituminous base and surface layers” were reflected, and prices for “surface protection and sealing of concrete” also increased. In other civil engineering, the construction work on prefabricated manholes drove the costs up. Other civil engineering rose by 1.5 percent (index: 106.7 points) and bridge construction by 1.4 percent (index: 107.1 points).
In the fourth quarter of 2020, prices for building construction and civil engineering rose by 2.5 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year. In building construction costs rose by 3.2 percent, in civil engineering the increase amounted to 1.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019.
