The Federation of Saudi Chambers of Commerce, represented by the Assistant General Secretariat for Chambers and National Committees Affairs, discussed with a number of concerned authorities the challenges facing the construction and building materials sector, most notably the rise in iron and cement prices, and their negative effects on the urban development sector, and the “cement sector” expressed concern about the high production cost. He also attributed this to the high costs of importing raw paper used in the manufacture of bags, noting that companies absorbed the cost and did not pass it on to the consumer because there was a specified upper limit on the selling price before. The Ministry of Commerce attributed the rise in the rebar sector to the increase in prices globally, the scarcity of transport trucks and the continuous increase in their prices due to the absence of drivers and the rise in diesel, and then charging those extra expenses on the prices of the final iron product. The contracting sector indicated that the heavy burdens on the sector resulted from the high financial consideration Increasing the Emiratization rates for technical professions, and the shortage of trained workers, calling for a review of the Emiratisation rates, and the financial compensation, to a next stage that will be The market is able to bear those financial burdens, especially in light of the change in prices and the negative impact of this on the value of the contracts that were signed earlier, which increases inflation and pointed to the weakness of the logistical circle that starts from shipping goods from abroad to transportation obstacles within the Kingdom and between Cities, in addition to the application of the building code, and the delay in the arrival of materials that comply with the code through the ports, which led to a rise in materials already in stock.
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