KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 — “The Building Materials Cost Index (BCI) (without steel bars and with steel bars) has shown an increase of the entire building category, with an increase between 0.3 and 3.1 per cent for Peninsular Malaysia for 2021, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).
The same trend can be seen for Sabah and Sarawak, where the former saw an increase of between 0.1 and 3.1 per cent, and the latter recorded an increase of 0.4 to 2.4 per cent.
Chief statistician of Malaysia Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the increase in the prices of building materials such as steel in 2021 was inevitable due to the increase in raw materials cost.
“Most building materials showed an increase in costs, especially steel. The prices of steel, one of the main components for BCI has been rising since January 2021.
“Other building materials’ costs such as cement also recorded increase in prices and this contributed to the increase in BCI for all building categories in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah dan Sarawak,” it added.
— Bernama
