NEW distribution methods to be introduced in China will ease the chronic shortage of building materials and help curb spiralling construction costs.
Since the onset of the development boom in 1991, developers and construction companies have struggled to keep projects on budget and secure building materials at fixed prices.
The director of quantity surveyors Davis Langdon and Seah, Mr Joseph Lee, said the Chinese Government was working on a programme to allocate building materials to areas where demand levels are highest.
''The government will be placing more resources to Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Shanghai as well as to other areas where construction activity is creating shortages,'' he said.
''By re-arranging the distribution ratio, supplies will be easier to get and the prices will fall.'' On other sites, construction companies have bought materials elsewhere within China in order to maintain supply levels and keep to building deadlines.
In Shenzhen, developers have reportedly transported cement and steel from northern destinations where it can be purchased more cheaply than southern China.