Construction labour squeeze propels Hong Kong into third spot among most expensive cities globally to build

Hong Kong’s construction labour costs have vaulted 25 per cent in the last 12 months, elevating the city into the third spot among the most expensive to build globally, trailing only New York and San Francisco, and stoking concerns of runaway home price inflation.

The average construction cost in Hong Kong amounted to US$3,704 per square metre in 2017, up 6.2 per cent year on year, according to global project manager, Turner and Townsend. 

Labour was the single largest driver of inflation in building construction costs, with the average hourly wage in Hong Kong rising to US$15 per hour, up 25 per cent year on year, according to the report.

In comparison, hourly construction labour costs in Singapore are US$13.

Vanessa Cho, quantity surveyor at Turner and Townsend, said that the shortage of skilled labour will further push up the construction costs in the city in the coming next few years.  

“The public and private sectors are competing for the same resources from the same labour market. It is expected that with the shortage of skilled labour, wage costs will continue to increase and in turn further raise the cost of construction,” said Cho. “The challenge for the construction labour market is not just about the lack of numbers employed. The workforce is old, ageing and inflexible.”

According to the Hong Kong Construction Association, about 42 per cent of the Hong Kong construction workers are above 50.