The Central Statistics Office (CSO) released figures on the construction sector for the first quarter of 2011. The Construction Price Index, which stood at 101.7 in December 2010, increased by 2.8 per cent or 2.8 points during the first quarter of 2011 to reach 10.45 in March 2011.
An increase of one per cent was noted in January and this increase was mainly due to higher wages and rise in transport costs and electrical installation.
The 1.3 per cent increase in February was the result of increase in the price of steel bars, sand, aggregate, block and electrical installation.
The 0.4 per cent increase in March was attributable to another increase in the price of sand and block.
The labour sub-index recorded a growth of 2 per cent in January 2011 and remained unchanged over the next two months. The sub-index materials grew by 0.1 per cent in January 2011.