Halle/Saale (dpa/sa) - According to the State Statistical Office, construction is becoming more expensive in Saxony-Anhalt. The prices for the new construction of residential buildings in November were 18.5 percent higher than in the same month last year, as the authority announced on Thursday. In the shell construction work, there was therefore the largest price increase for ramming, vibrating and pressing work (34.4 percent). The prices for drainage canal work were a good 24 percent higher than in the same month last year, and concrete work was 21.5 percent more expensive. The prices for the expansion rose by 18.6 percent.

According to the statisticians, the construction of office buildings and commercial buildings has also increased to a similar extent. The main reasons given for the price increase were the scarcity of raw materials, rising energy prices and the increase in the minimum wage.