To identify the most expensive place to build, the average build cost in USD of six different types of construction was assessed;
- apartment high-rise
- office block prestige
- large warehouse distribution centre
- general hospital
- primary and secondary school
- shopping centre including mall.
According to the report by Turner & Townsend, the most expensive locations are Hong Kong, London, New York, San Francisco and Zurich as they maintain their status as the five costliest places to build. The high growth in New York has seen the city overtake Zurich as the most expensive place to build with costs increasing by 3.5 percent since last year, whereas costs remained largely flat in Zurich.
London dropped back down to fifth place from third place in 2016, despite costs increasing by 5 percent. This is largely because of currency depreciation of the pound sterling following the vote for the country to leave the EU pushing down comparative costs in US dollars.
At the other end of the scale, Bangalore, Beijing, Dar es Salaam, Nairobi and Warsaw make up the five cheapest places to build, with Nairobi cheapest.
For building costs in more depth, the data for each individual market is set out on in our dedicated market section. We included output costs (cost per square metre) and input costs (labour, materials and plant) for each type of building, shown in the local currency and in USD.
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Source; Kenyan Wallstreet
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