The price of timber in Q4 2022 jumped nearly 14%, while the price of cabling increased by 3.5%. Contrary to this, iron prices fell 3.8%

Saudi Arabia’s construction contract awards touched SAR 25.2 billion ($6.7 billion) during the third quarter of 2022 driven by Vision [2030] Realisation Programmes related to tourism and housing along with physical infrastructure, according to a report by the US-Saudi Business Council.

This could be a major contributing factor to the recorded upward trend in the cost of materials.

According to the latest General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) report, the average price of timber in Saudi Arabia surged 13.6 percent to 3,734.81 Saudi riyals per cubic metre in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to SAR 3,287.15 per metre in the same period of 2021, reported Zawya.

On the other hand, the report suggests that the average ready-mix concrete prices rose 1.5 percent year-on-year to SAR 206.99 per cubic metre.

Cement price, on average, rose 0.6 percent to SAR 13.75 per 50 kg bag in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to 13.67 per 50 kg bag for the same period last year.

Average iron prices fell 3.8 percent to SAR 3,378.89 per tonne in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to SAR 3513.90 in the year-earlier period.

Cabling prices gained 3.5 percent year-on-year to SAR 47.99 riyals per metre.

Source: mepmiddleeast.com