VISAKHAPATNAM: The unprecedented price rise of construction materials had a debilitating effect on the realty sector, the second largest employer in the country, said chairman of CREDAI-Visakhapatnam Bayana Srinivasa Rao. The sector is also beset with problems like shortage of sand and its high cost (in the black market) and certain provisions in the RERA and GST, he added.
Addressing mediapersons here on Tuesday, Srinivasa Rao said problems adversely affecting the construction industry starte d w i t h demonetisation, followed by the enactment of RERA, GST, and the last straw on the camel’s back was the pandemic, that threw thousands on to roads and brought the construction activity to a standstill.
Srinivasa Rao and president of CREDAI Vizag KSRK Raju said the steep increase in the prices of cement and steel, two major components in construction sector, was unjustified. A unique problem that builders face in the Visakhapatnam district is the absence of river beds, leading to dependence on neighboring districts for sand. This is an additional burden on builders, in the form of transportation cost.