City of Zurich responds to shortage of building materials
The Zurich Building Department is holding out the prospect of adjusting work contracts to construction companies in order to limit delays due to the shortage of building materials.
Construction materials such as steel, wood and plastic products are becoming scarce and expensive due to the war of aggression on Ukraine and the effects of the Corona pandemic. As a result, the city of Zurich's 300 or so construction projects are also threatened with additional costs and delays. The responsible Office for Buildings (AHB) now wants to limit these risks as much as possible. According to the AHB, there is a great deal of uncertainty among the companies commissioned to carry out the work with regard to price trends and the availability of materials. For the city of Zurich, there is a risk that companies will not submit any bids or hardly any bids at all for municipal projects due to these uncertainties and that construction projects will be delayed as a result.
The director of the AHB Wiebke Rösler Häfliger therefore announced that the new work contracts would be adjusted accordingly "to create fair conditions for both sides". For example, the city wants to set shorter price commitments or tie individual material prices to a price index. Contracts for work that are already running may not be changed for submission-related reasons, but here, too, there is the possibility of an extraordinary price adjustment, emphasizes Rösler Häfliger.
They are also looking at whether delivery delays can be absorbed by changing the construction sequence or using other materials. Material price increases could also be financed from the credit reserves set aside in the project. However, the director of the AHB emphasizes that the contractors' obligation to provide evidence is non-negotiable: All price increases must always be openly explained.
The AHB further states that it is in contact with, among others, the Cantonal Office of Structural Engineering, the Zurich Schaffhausen Association of Master Builders and the Coordination Conference of Construction and Property Bodies of Public Builders. A joint recommendation for action is to be adopted by the end of June. (ah)
