London is the most expensive city in the world to build in
Central London is now the most expensive city in the world to build in, according to research by dutch consultancy Arcadis.
London overtook Switzerland at the top of the list, as the strength of the sterling against the euro accelerated price inflation.
The report looked at 40 nations and concluded that it is now five per cent more expensive to build in London than in Switzerland. As well as the price being affected by inflation, there are several difficulties associated with building in London. For one thing, the Victorian sewerage system does no favours.
This is only a small factor, however, compared to the restrictive costs of buying land in London. The government has set itself a target of reducing the cost of building in the capital by a third in time for 2025.
The top 10 countries were mainly European, with Switzerland, Denmark, Hong Kong. Sweden, Australia, France, Austria, UK, Germany, and Belgium making up the top 10.
At the other end of the scale was India, which according to Arcadis was the cheapest place in which to build.