It will cost more to build, restore, renovate, and remodel homes and other buildings from next year.
That’s because the cost of cement, an essential ingredient in these projects, is set to increase by 9.5 per cent from January 1.
According to producers Arawak Cement Plant – a subsidiary of Trinidad Cement Limited – the cost of a 42.5 kilogram bag of cement for “authorized distributors” will increase by $1.66 per bag to $19.16 before VAT, while the non-distributor price will increase by $1.74 per bag to $20.03 before VAT.
Semi-bulk cement will increase by $38.22 per 1.5 tonne bag to $440.50 before VAT, while bulk will move to $402.57 per tonne before VAT, an increase of $34.93.
The increase is expected to affect both the local and export market.
Rupert Greene, general manager of the St Lucy cement company, in a statement yesterday stressed that the company had no control over the retail price of cement to consumers, noting that those prices were determined by distributors and retailers.
Read the full story in today’s MIDWEEK NATION.
