{
  "id": 16750901,
  "title": "Average building cost increases by 5.1% in September 2026 -GSS",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/27/average-building-cost-increases-by-5-1-in-september-2026-gss",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-27T13:40:54.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
    "slug": "myjoyonline-ghana",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/average-building-cost-increases-by-5-1-in-september-2026-gss/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In September 2026, the average cost of constructing buildings in Ghana rose by 5.1% compared to the previous year, according to the Prime Building Cost Index (PBCI) released by the Ghana Statistical Service. This marked an increase from 4.6% in August 2026. The primary driver behind the surge was the steep rise in costs associated with plant and equipment, which surged by 19.1% year-on-year. Labour costs, however, saw a decline of 3.2%, while material costs climbed 6.5%.\n\nThe PBCI, which tracks the prices of construction inputs such as materials, labor, and equipment against a base year of 2023, indicates a 5.1% increase in building costs year-over-year. Notably, 14 out of 23 sub-groups exhibited inflation rates surpassing the national average. Reinforcement materials experienced the steepest price hike at 29.0%, while the steel sub-group saw a decline of 8.8%. Investors, developers, contractors, and policymakers will closely monitor these figures to adjust bids, budget effectively, and negotiate contracts in light of the evolving inflation landscape in the construction sector.",
  "summary": "The year-on-year inflation rate measured by the Prime Building Cost Index (PBCI) has increased to 5.1 percent in September 2026 from 4.6 percent in August 2026 By this, building costs were 5.1% higher than a year ago and 0.03% higher than in August 2026. Plant and equipment costs went up 19.1% over the year, […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}