Tender prices drop to 1999 levels

CONSTRUCTION tender prices fell by as much as 10.5% in the first half of this year, bringing the average amount firms are offering for building project contracts down to levels last seen in 1999.

Latest figures just published by the Society of Chartered Surveyors show that prices have dropped by 17.3% over the past 12 months. In the last calendar year, they fell by 11%.

While the continued falls have come off the back in the general decline in all sectors of the construction industry, the situation could provide the Government with the chance to move ahead with key infrastructural projects, while at the same time securing jobs and retaining skills within the construction sector.