Hong Kong has surpassed Tokyo as Asia's most expensive city to build property as rising construction prices add to a worsening labor crunch, a new market survey released by Turner & Townsend showed.
The UK-based property consultancy projected that Hong Kong's average construction cost this year will rise 4.8% to $4,500 per square meter, ranking it ninth globally out of 91 cities surveyed.
This has been especially true in Hong Kong, with the city's construction industry facing a manpower shortage as the city grapples with an aging population.
According to the Hong Kong Construction Industry Council, this skilled labor gap is expected to reach as high as 40,000 people by 2027.
Last year, the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department projected that Hong Kong's aging population would get worse amid low fertility rates last year.
Persons:
Townsend, Hong, Sumit Mukherjee
Organizations:
Turner, New, Hong Kong Construction Industry Council, Hong Kong Census, Statistics Department
Locations:
Hong Kong, Tokyo, U.S, Switzerland, New York City, San Francisco, Zurich, Asia