{"text":[[{"start":11.2,"text":"Construction projects are stalling around the world as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupts the supply of crucial materials and drives up prices for oil-derived products like paint and insulation."}],[{"start":22.95,"text":"The construction industry is a cornerstone of economic growth, contributing about 13 per cent of global GDP, but builders say restricted oil supply out of the Middle East is now holding up projects."}],[{"start":35.1,"text":"Masatomi Maeda, chair of Hiroshima-based Maeda Housing, said about a quarter of its projects have been delayed within the past month as suppliers could not confirm delivery dates for goods including PVC piping, insulation materials and prefabricated bathrooms. "}],[{"start":51.3,"text":"Builders say the absence of a single part, adhesive or material is enough to hold up an entire project."}],[{"start":58.5,"text":"“We have around 20 contracted projects that we can’t start work on smoothly,” said Maeda. “We already expect completion payments to be delayed by two or three months. If two months of sales disappear, I think there will be companies who won’t have enough working capital.”"}],[{"start":73.35,"text":"Builders make extensive use of oil-derived materials that have been restricted by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz — through which about a fifth of the world’s oil is ordinarily shipped."}],[{"start":83.5,"text":"The affected products — which include asphalt, insulation, lighting, heating and ventilating equipment, plastics and paints — have already risen sharply in price. Meanwhile, higher industrial energy prices are also driving up the cost of steel, concrete, cement, ceramics and bricks."}],[{"start":101.5,"text":"Some of India’s largest real estate developers have been hit. Abhishek Lodha, who runs Mumbai-based Lodha Developers, said recently that construction costs had risen about 5 per cent since the war’s beginning. "}],[{"start":115,"text":"In Australia, the supply chain crunch has threatened to derail the government’s pledge to build 1.2mn new homes by 2029, with some developers warning that the rise in costs could add up to A$50,000 ($36,000) to the cost of building a new home. "}],[{"start":132.2,"text":"Reece, Australia’s largest supplier of plumbing equipment, warned its customers in March that the disruption would force it to pass on costs to customers. It said the price of high-density polyethylene pipes used in civil infrastructure would jump by 36 per cent and the price of PVC pipes used for residential plumbing would rise by 28.5 per cent."}],[{"start":155.6,"text":"Last week, the UK purchasing managers’ index for construction showed the sharpest decline in five months, after input costs rose by the most in three decades, excluding a surge during the pandemic."}],[{"start":167.4,"text":"Noble Francis, economics director at the Construction Products Association, said some UK contractors had been warned of 10-30 per cent price increases over the next three months. The CPA is expecting an increase in contractor insolvencies over the next 12 months."}],[{"start":185.35,"text":"Major price rises are already a reality in Japan. Yoshihide Kimura, chief executive of Toyama-based contractor Tomiso, said that emails and faxes poured in last month notifying him of “extraordinary” increases. PVC prices, for example, jumped as much as 70 per cent, he said."}],[{"start":203.2,"text":"Kimura said his firm could not pass on the costs to customers, as they would need to renegotiate housing loans, and the uncertainty was causing customers to hold back."}],[{"start":213,"text":"“Everyone feels stuck,” he said."}],[{"start":215.75,"text":"With additional reporting by Chris Kay in Mumbai"}],[{"start":226.45000000000002,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1778663023_5178.mp3"}